Boeing's Starliner spacecraft encounters issues on its approach to space station


The two NASA astronauts flying Boeing’s Starliner capsule to the International Space Station on its first crewed flight encountered some issues as they approached the orbiting outpost.

The spacecraft was scheduled to dock at the space station at 12:15 p.m. ET, but problems with two of the 28 thrusters on the lower portion of the Starliner capsule thwarted that attempt.

NASA said it is now targeting a docking time of 1:33 p.m. ET.

The spacecraft is sitting roughly 200 meters away from the International Space Station as mission controllers troubleshoot the issues. The problem affects the capsule’s reaction control thrusters, which are used to make fine-tune changes to the spacecraft’s trajectory as it nears the space station.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is more than 24 hours into its long-awaited inaugural crewed test flight to the space station. The capsule lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket Wednesday from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com



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