Houston, June 6 (China News Agency) - On June 6, local time, a Boeing interstellar spacecraft carrying two American astronauts docked with the International Space Station.
According to CNN, the interstellar plane was originally scheduled to dock with the International Space Station at 12:15 on the 6th. But when approaching the space station, 5 of the 28 thrusters of the interstellar aircraft malfunctioned. Two astronauts immediately attempted to troubleshoot and successfully ignited four thrusters again, resulting in the spacecraft missing its first docking opportunity.
At 13:34, the spacecraft successfully docked with the space station. At 15:46, the cabin door was opened, and astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the spacecraft entered the International Space Station to meet with seven others. The two will stay at the International Space Station for at least a week, focusing on testing the performance of the interstellar aircraft.
In addition to thruster malfunctions, the spacecraft also experienced multiple helium leaks before and after takeoff. The Associated Press reported that the function of helium is to pressurize the fuel pipeline of the interstellar jet's propulsion system. Steve Stitch, the commercial manned program manager of NASA, stated after the spacecraft docked with the space station that the propulsion problem was not related to helium leakage. A Boeing spokesperson stated that the helium leak will not pose a safety issue to astronauts or the mission.
At 10:52 on the 5th, the interstellar aircraft took off on the Cosmos 5 carrier rocket of the United States Joint Launch Alliance, carrying out its first manned test flight mission. Previously, the manned test flight of the interstellar aircraft was cancelled twice due to technical malfunctions. (End)