“Starliner” spacecraft launched for first test flight with astronauts

With NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams on board, the spacecraft launched on Wednesday from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida using an “Atlas V” rocket, as live images from the US space agency showed. The test flight had previously been postponed several times.

Space for up to 4 people

The “Starliner” – a partially reusable spacecraft consisting of a crew capsule and a service module and capable of carrying up to four crew members – is expected at the ISS on Thursday, where Wilmore and Williams are expected to stay for about a week. Williams, 58, and Wilmore, 61, have each been in space twice before. For the arrival of the “Starliner” the “Crew Dragon” space capsule currently docked on the ISS was moved to another docking station.

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