Boeing’s Starliner has finally taken off towards the International Space Station

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, whose takeoff had been postponed on Saturday, finally took off on Wednesday June 5 from Florida in the United States towards the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, which should make it possible to extend the short list of space vehicles carrying human beings, is for the first time composed of astronauts on board.

The takeoff of the Atlas V rocket from the ULA group, with the Starliner capsule at its top, took place at 10:52 a.m. from Cape Canaveral in Florida (3:52 p.m. in France). NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two space veterans, make up the crew. “Suni and I are honored to share this dream of spaceflight with each of you”said Butch Wilmore, the mission commander, a few minutes before takeoff.

The two astronauts must spend a little over a week aboard the International Space Station, then return via Starliner. The American space agency wants to have a second ship in addition to that of SpaceX in order to better be able to deal with possible problems on one of the capsules or emergency situations.

After years of successive postponements and two takeoff attempts canceled at the last moment in one month, Boeing must demonstrate during this test flight that Starliner is safe. The American group will then be able to begin its regular operations, albeit four years late, on SpaceX, which has already been transporting NASA astronauts to the Space Station (ISS) since 2020.