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Boeing docks crew capsule to space station in test do-over

Only a test dummy was aboard the capsule
APTOPIX Boeing Crew Capsule
Posted at 7:21 PM, May 20, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-20 23:07:58-04

Boeing's astronaut capsule has arrived at the International Space Station in a critical repeat test flight.

Only a test dummy was aboard the capsule for Friday's docking, a huge achievement for Boeing after years of false starts. The only other time Boeing's Starliner flew in space, it never got anywhere near the station.

This time, the overhauled Starliner made it to the right orbit following Thursday's launch from Florida. And it showed up at the station's doorstep 25 hours later. It will spend five days at the station before returning to Earth.

Once Starliner approached within 10 miles of the space station, Boeing flight controllers in Houston, Texas could see the space station through the capsule’s cameras.

“We’re waving. Can you see us?” joked station astronaut Bob Hines.