Boeing’s Starliner space capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday afternoon after being delayed by new leaks and propellant problems earlier in the day, NASA announced.
Starliner spacecraft touched down at 1:34 p.m. EDT Thursday over the southern Indian Ocean, NASA commercial crew confirmed on social media platform X. Automated systems guided the spacecraft toward the Space Station’s forward port, NASA added.
The space capsule was originally expected to dock around 12:15 p.m. EDT, but two additional leaks emerged, the Associated Press reported.
The Starliner already suffered a helium leak as it was launched into space on Wednesday, following two previous delays in May. Boeing and NASA crew members believed the leak could be managed and the risk of additional leaks was unlikely, although problems emerged on Thursday, the AP noted.
Four of the capsule’s 28 thrusters also crashed, two of which restarted, the news agency reported. This came hours after Boeing spokesman Jim May said the leaks posed no safety concerns and that the capsule contained enough helium reserves to make up for what was lost.
It was not immediately known whether the thruster problems were related to the previous leaks, according to the news agency.
The problems on Thursday led Mission Control to not get closer than 650 feet to the ISS, known as the “maintenance” zone, on Thursday, delaying the launch. docking expected at 12:15 pm EDT for at least an hour.
Wednesday’s launch provided Boeing with a rare victory after the manufacturer faced months of scrutiny over the safety of its planes after a Boeing 737 Max suffered a mid-air explosion earlier this year.
Boeing has worked on developing the Starliner for more than a decade in hopes of giving NASA another U.S. spacecraft that could carry astronauts to and from the ISS.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule carried astronauts for the first time in 2020. It was also built by NASA.
SpaceX has completed at least nine crewed missions, while Boeing has completed just two previous unmanned flights. For development, NASA gave $4 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX.
The Associated Press contributed.
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