Watch Falcon 9 lift off from Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39A on a space station resupply mission. The rocket’s first stage then returned to land at neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Video: NASA TV.
Members
Q&A with Mark Mulqueen, Boeing’s space station program manager
The International Space Station’s oldest sections launched nearly 17 years ago, and with the huge orbiting research complex now well into its operational life as a microgravity science lab, prime contractor Boeing’s job is keeping the outpost going, according to Mark Mulqueen, who manages the aerospace company’s space station program.
Mission Reports
Starliner landing now on indefinite hold for more tests, but NASA insists crew not ‘stranded’ in space
The problem for NASA and Boeing is that the Starliner’s service module, which houses the helium lines, thrusters and other critical systems, is discarded before re-entry and burns up in the atmosphere. Engineers will not be able to study the hardware after the fact and as a result, they want to collect as much data as possible before NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams head home.
