The Boeing Starliner spacecraft launched Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying two NASA astronauts. after several delays in recent weeks due to technical problems.
The first crewed Starliner flight took off at 10:52 a.m. from Florida with flight commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams on board.
The spacecraft entered “stable orbit,” Boeing Space said in a post on social platform X about 30 minutes after liftoff.
The test flight, which is headed to the International Space Station, represents the last hurdle for Boeing to begin regularly transporting astronauts to and from the space station – an effort that has been in the works for years.
The Starliner was initially supposed to launch in early May. However, the original flight was canceled due to a valve problem.
The next launch attempt in mid-May was canceled due to a propellant leak, while another was canceled minutes before liftoff on Saturday due to a computer problem.
The successful launch of the Starliner on Wednesday marks a rare victory for Boeing, which has faced heavy scrutiny in recent months over the safety of its planes after a Boeing 737 Max suffered a mid-air explosion.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
