Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft carrying a crew of two astronauts managed to lift off into space Wednesday after months of numerous delays, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
The crew consists of NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, and their journey is expected to last 25 hours before they reach the International Space Station. They will spend a week there before going back to earth, the outlet reported. (RELATED: China Lands Probe On Far Side Of Moon For Second Time As Space Competition With US Grows)
“Let’s get going!” Williams exclaimed minutes before the historic liftoff, The AP reported. The flight meant that Boeing joined SpaceX as a second space taxi service for NASA.
Boeing Space tweeted video of the liftoff.
Liftoff! Go #AtlasV! Go Centaur! Go #Starliner!
Godspeed, Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni! pic.twitter.com/kTA8fjcLP7
— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) June 5, 2024
Prior to Wednesday’s launch, numerous technical issues plagued the Starliner, which kept delaying its launch.
A pressure valve irregularity on a liquid oxygen tank was responsible for dragging out its planned launch date to May 17. NASA said that the valve exhibited “oscillating behavior.”
A small helium leak May 14 delayed the flight again, a press release says.
The Starliner’s launch was also put off Saturday because of “the computer ground launch sequencer not loading into the correct operational configuration after proceeding into terminal count,” according to a statement by NASA.
“I know it’s been a long road to get here,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said, The AP reported.
The Starliner is designed to be fully autonomous and reusable, with the crew only needing to take manual control to check the systems, according to The AP.