The story so far: At 8.04 am IST on May 7, an Atlas V rocket is set to lift off with a team of two veteran astronauts — Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams — sitting inside a crew capsule called Starliner, built by Boeing, on the capsule’s third test flight and the first with astronauts on board. The astronauts will be set for the International Space Station (ISS) in low-earth orbit. If the mission succeeds, the U.S. will for the first time in its history have two spacecraft to launch astronauts to space.
What is Boeing Starliner?
Starliner is a spacecraft that transports astronauts in space, after being launched there by a rocket. It consists of a crew capsule and a service module. The crew capsule houses the astronauts; like others of its kind, it will be able to survive reentry and return to the ground. The service module consists of the equipment and systems the astronauts need to survive in space, including air and temperature control, water supply, sanitation, etc., plus the engines and fuel required to manoeuvre the spacecraft. The service module won’t be reusable.
