GALLERY: Local photos from NASAโs Boeing rocket launch on Friday
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. โ Boeingโs new Starliner capsule ended up in the wrong orbit after lifting off on its first test flight Friday, a blow to the companyโs effort to launch astronauts for NASA next year. Floridians sent in photos of what they witnessed on Friday morning.
Boeing's Starliner crew capsule makes space debut this week
Atop the rocket is Boeing's Starliner capsule, scheduled to lift off Friday morning on a test flight to the International Space Station. (Craig Bailey/Florida Today via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, FL โ Boeing's shiny new Starliner crew capsule makes its debut this week with a launch to the International Space Station, the company's last hurdle before flying astronauts for NASA next year. If the orbital demo goes well, the first Starliner crew could be rocketing to the space station by summer. SpaceX got $2.6 billion for its crew capsule, an upscale version of its Dragon cargo ship, flying since 2012. In a first for a U.S. crew capsule bound for orbit, the Starliner will aim for a land, versus water, landing.
NASA TV aired successful Boeing Starliner test
Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft and its service module sit atop the test stand at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico ahead of the companys Pad Abort Test. WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NM - The successful live test of the Starliner spacecraft on NASA TV this morning proved how the Boeing spacecraft could eject from an Atlas rocket in case of an emergency. The launch abort system flight took place in New Mexico where two parachutes provided a soft landing after it blasted off on a roughly 90 second test flight. The test will show how the Starliner spacecraft can escape from its Atlas V launch vehicle in an emergency and safely return the crew to Earth. Now that the test is a success, plans for the first unmanned orbital flight test of Starliner could take place December 17 aboard an Atlas V rocket.
Boeing crew capsule completes major flight test in desert
The Starliner capsule carried no crew, just a test dummy for the 1 ยฝ-minute shakedown of the launch abort system. For its next test, Boeing plans to launch a Starliner to the International Space Station next month, without a crew. The Starliner will be the first U.S. crew capsule to return from orbit to solid ground. SpaceX's crew capsule splashes down in the Atlantic, like NASA's old Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules. If the upcoming orbital test goes well, Boeing will follow with the crew test flight.