Boeing’s Starliner Successfully Docks to International Space Station for the First Time

Boeing’s Starliner crew ship is seen moments after docking to the International Space Station’s forward port on the Harmony module. Credit: NASA TV

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module for the first time on May 20, 2022, at 8:28 p.m. EDT (5:28 p.m. PDT). Starliner launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on a flight test to the International Space Station at 6:54 p.m. on Thursday, May 19 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The unpiloted Boeing Starliner spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on May 20 following a launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on May 19. Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) will remain at the station to complete a series of test objectives before departing the complex on May 25 where it will land at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico. This test flight comes as a precursor to a future crewed Starliner test flight. Credit: NASA

NASA will host a media teleconference to give an update on Starliner’s progress tonight at approximately 9:30 p.m. Friday, May 20 where it will be streamed live on NASA’s website. Participants include:

• Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate
• Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
• Joel Montalbano, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
• Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft approaches the International Space Station on the Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. Credit: NASA TV

Starliner’s hatch opening is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:45 a.m. Saturday, May 21. Coverage of hatch opening will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Saturday, May 21

• 11:30 a.m. – NASA TV hatch opening coverage begins
• 11:45 a.m. – (approximately) Hatch opening and welcoming remarks

Starliner is scheduled to depart the space station Wednesday, May 25, when it will undock and return to Earth, with a desert landing in the western U.S. The spacecraft will return with more than 600 pounds of cargo, including Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System reusable tanks that provide breathable air to station crew members. The tanks will be refurbished on Earth and sent back to station on a future flight.

Following certification, NASA missions aboard Starliner will carry up to four crew members to the station, enabling the continued expansion of the crew and increasing the amount of science and research that can be performed aboard the orbiting laboratory.

OFT-2 will provide valuable data for NASA certifying Boeing’s crew transportation system for regular flights with astronauts to and from the space station.