Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked at the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Astronauts on the International Space Station closed the hatch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on Tuesday, and ground crews used the lab’s robotic arm to inspect the capsule’s heat shield to clear the vehicle for decoupling on Wednesday. return to Earth to land in the afternoon in New Mexico.
The Boeing-owned spacecraft launched last Thursday and docked at the space station on Friday night, arriving at the orbiting research complex for the first time after officials aborted a test flight in 2019. unmanned demonstration will end Wednesday with an automated departure from the space station, followed a few hours later by a parachute-assisted air landing on the White Sands spaceport.
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines closed the front hatch of the Starliner spacecraft at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Tuesday. Hines became the first person to enter an orbiting Starliner spacecraft into orbit on Saturday when the station crew opened the hatch and began three days of inspections and checks inside the cabin crew of the spacecraft. capsule.
Astronauts Jessica Watkins, Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren and Samantha Cristoforetti on the International Space Station on Tuesday. Credit: NASA TV / Spaceflight Now
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