Boeing's Starliner Docks at ISS After Five Thrusters Unexpectedly Shut Off
After back-to-back failed launch attempts, a crewed Starliner capsule finally launched on Wednesday to deliver two NASA astronauts to low Earth orbit. Boeing is testing its capsule’s ability to transport crews to the International Space Station (ISS), with Starliner set to dock to the orbital lab on Thursday.
Update: June 6, 1:45 p.m. ET: Starliner missed its first docking opportunity at 12:15 p.m. ET due to technical issues, prompting NASA to target another docking window starting at around 1:30 p.m. ET. Five of the spacecraft thrusters failed during its approach, and four were subsequently recovered. As a result, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore had to assume manual control of the crew capsule for a while before it went back into its autonomous mode. The capsule finally docked with the ISS at 1:34 p.m. ET following a nail-biting journey.
Update: June 6, 1:27 p.m. ET: Starliner’s docking has not gone smoothly, the spacecraft developed trouble with its reaction control system thrusters.
