Boeing Starliner’s Capsule’s Window Falls Off Before Being Mounted Atop ULA Atlas Rocket in Launch Pad [WATCH]

Boeing recently brought out its Starliner spaceship to the launchpad for its second attempt to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). However, it encountered yet another setback along the road.

A portion of the capsule's glass seemed to fall off while tied to the back of a massive truck on Wednesday, dropping down to the asphalt at NASA's Cape Canaveral facility in Florida. CBS space correspondent William Harwood shared the footage on Twitter.

Before continuing to Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the procession came to a halt to inspect for damage.

Boeing later told Harwood that the protective window cover had come off the capsule.

Boeing Starliner Rolled Out Ahead of Test Flight

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spaceship is only a few weeks away from attempting another critical test flight to International Space Station despite the latest clumsy incident.

The Starliner will be put atop the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket to power it to orbit on a crewless voyage on May 19 in Florida, marking a significant step forward in preparations.

Boeing shared on Twitter Starliner's trip from an on-site factory to the ULA Vertical Integration Facility, where the spacecraft was placed onto the top of the rocket.

The aerospace firm also shared a series of photographs of the Starliner being tethered to the launch vehicle.

The Atlas V rocket will launch the Starliner spacecraft to a 98-nautical-mile sub-orbital trajectory if all goes according to plan on May 19, Click Orlando said.

According to Ars Technica, success with this test flight would likely set Boeing up to fly crew to the space station for the first time early in 2023.

About Boeing, ULA's Spaceship

Unlike Boeing competitor SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, The Independent said the Starliner would be sent into orbit atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

Boeing plans to use the Starliner to transport NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station, same as how SpaceX has been doing since 2020. NASA awarded both businesses contracts as part of its Commercial Crew program, albeit Boeing received the larger deal, costing $4.3 billion compared to SpaceX's $2.5 billion budget.

However, while SpaceX began serving NASA as per their contract in 2020, Boeing experienced an on-orbit failure. The Starliner was unable to dock with the ISS due to a computer fault during an uncrewed orbital test in December. However, it did successfully land in the New Mexico desert - in contrast to Crew Dragon, which lands in the water off the Florida coast.

Boeing and NASA wanted to restart the Starliner mission in August, but OFT-2 was put on hold due to the spacecraft's oxidizer valve malfunction.

Boeing will now, at long last, be given a second opportunity.

If all goes well on May 19, Boeing and NASA will set a date for the Starliner's first crewed flight test, putting the space agency one step closer to the redundancy it sought by granting two Commercial Crew contracts.

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