Starliner makes 5 types of spacecraft docked with ISS

Boeing’s new spacecraft for carrying astronauts arrived on the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) on Friday night time, as a part of its uncrewed orbital check flight. The hatch between the Starliner and the ISS was opened at 12:04 p.m. ET Saturday, Could 21, permitting astronauts to go into the craft and entry the 800 kilos of cargo and crew provides inside.

Contained in the Starliner craft is an “anthropometric check machine” within the commander’s seat: A dummy generally known as Rosie the Rocketeer. Rosie collects knowledge on circumstances contained in the capsule throughout its mission and was impressed by the well-known Rosie the Riveter from World Struggle II posters. Weighing 180 kilos, she represents the fiftieth percentile of human peak and weight, in keeping with Boeing, and helps to keep up Starliner’s middle of gravity in the course of the check flight.

NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Kjell Lindgren greet “Rosie the Rocketeer” inside the Boeing Starliner spacecraft shortly after opening its hatch. — NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Kjell Lindgren greet “Rosie the Rocketeer” contained in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft shortly after opening its hatch. NASA

Rosie beforehand flew on the primary orbital check flight of the Starliner in 2019 which did not attain the house station. Regardless of the issues throughout this primary check flight, Rosie offered knowledge on what astronauts can anticipate to expertise when flying in a Starliner.

To have fun the arrival of the brand new craft, the present crew of the ISS, which numbers seven, got here collectively for a welcome ceremony on the hatch:

The seven-member Exp 67 crew gathers for a welcome ceremony in entrance of the hatch the place the @BoeingSpace #Starliner docked on Friday night. pic.twitter.com/AGfkAjWMbI

— Worldwide Area Station (@Space_Station) May 21, 2022

The docking of the Starliner additionally implies that the house station is internet hosting an unusually large number of spacecraft. There are presently six craft docked with the ISS, of 5 differing kinds.

In addition to the Boeing Starliner, there’s the SpaceX Crew Dragon craft referred to as Freedom which carried the 4 Crew-4 astronauts from NASA and the European Area Company to the station final month. One other crew ship is the Russian Soyuz MS-21 craft which arrived on the station in March carrying three Russian cosmonauts.

Along with the three crew craft, there are additionally three cargo craft docked: The Northrop Grumman Cygnus-17, and two Russian provide ships, Progress 79 and Progress 80.

Six spaceships are parked at the space station. — Could 20, 2022: Worldwide Area Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked on the house station together with Boeing’s Starliner crew ship and the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom; the Northrop Grumman Cygnus house freighter; and Russia’s Soyuz MS-21 crew ship and the Progress 79 and 80 resupply ships. NASA

This crowded exterior received’t final for lengthy although, because the Starliner is scheduled to undock and return to Earth this Wednesday, Could 25.