Boeingʼs Starliner drone was docked to the International Space Station for the first time.
This was reported by The Guardian.
It happened yesterday, almost 26 hours after the launch of the capsule from the NASA base in Florida.
This is the first time in history that the spacecraft of both NASA Commercial Crew Program partners have merged with the space station. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the ISS in April.
The Starliner program cost almost $600 million. If this mission is successful, Starliner will be able to send its first team of astronauts to the ISS in the fall.
So far, the only passenger in the capsule was a research mannequin named Rosie.
- On May 19, Boeing launched the Starliner spacecraft with an unmanned capsule on board.
- On April 26, the first private space mission safely completed a two-week scientific mission to the ISS and landed in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida. And on April 27, SpaceX sent into orbit the fourth mission of astronauts.