After overcoming the mid-flight malfunctions of Boeing's commercial spacecraft, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore finally reached the safety of the International Space Station on Thursday. A decade in the making, Cape Canaveral's Wednesday launch was Boeing's third attempt after aborting two prior launches, due in part to helium leaks in the service module of its Starliner-series capsule, named Calypso by Williams. Though deft handling and scientific precision prevailed, the astronauts were beset by further helium leaks throughout the flight, including one known pre-launch and three discovered after their capsule was already in orbit.
The earth had held on tight to Calypso. Even strapped to the Atlas V's combined 90,250 pounds of rocket fuel, the Starliner capsule fought hard to break away — firing up its own thrusters in a final burn in order to stabilize its elliptical orbit. Free from gravity, Williams and Wilmore were just about to get some shut eye when mission control piped up.
