- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
Boeing's Starliner finally ready for first crewed mission
Launch day is finally here: Boeing's Starliner capsule blasts off Monday to the International Space Station on its first crewed mission -- several years after SpaceX first achieved the same milestone.
The flight, a final test before Starliner takes up regular service for NASA, is critical for the US aerospace giant, whose reputation has suffered of late due to safety issues with some of its passenger jets.
Starliner, which was first ordered a decade ago by the US space agency, has had a bumpy ride to the finish line, with surprise setbacks and multiple delays -- a saga Boeing is eager to complete.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are set to leave Cape Canaveral at 10:34 pm Monday (0234 GMT Tuesday) aboard the capsule.
Starliner will be propelled into orbit by an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture.
Wilmore and Williams, Navy-trained space program veterans, have each been to the ISS twice, traveling once on a shuttle and then aboard a Russian Soyuz vessel.
"It's going to be like going back home," Williams said.
As for the Boeing spacecraft, Wilmore said: "Everything is new. Everything's unique."
"I don't think either one of us ever dreamed that we'd be associated with the first flight of a brand new spacecraft."
For NASA, the stakes are also high: Having a second option for human space flight in addition to SpaceX's Dragon vehicles is "really important," said Dana Weigel, manager of the agency's International Space Station program.
Weigel said the flexibility could help NASA manage emergency situations, such as problems with a particular space vehicle.
- Setback after setback -
Starliner is scheduled to arrive at the ISS at about 0500 GMT Wednesday, and remain there for a little over a week. Tests will be performed to check it is working properly, and then Williams and Wilmore will reboard the capsule to return home.
A successful mission would help dispel the bitter taste left by the numerous setbacks in the Starliner program.
In 2019, during a first uncrewed test flight, the capsule was not placed on the right trajectory and returned without reaching the ISS.
Then in 2021, with the rocket on the launchpad for a new flight, blocked valves forced another postponement.
The empty vessel finally reached the ISS in May 2022.
Since then, Boeing has been working on the crewed test flight so the capsule can be certified for NASA's use on regular ISS missions.
It had hoped to carry out that flight in 2022, but problems kept cropping up, notably in the parachute system used to slow the craft when it returns to Earth's atmosphere.
"There are a number of things that were surprises along the way that we had to overcome," said Boeing executive Mark Nappi.
"It certainly made the team very strong, and very proud of how they have overcome every single issue that we've encountered." he added.
"It's pretty typical that a human spaceflight vehicle from design to flying humans is about a 10-year period."
- 'Very embarrassing' -
NASA associate administrator Jim Free predicted the mission would not be hiccup-free.
"We certainly have some unknowns in this mission, things we expect to learn, being a test mission. We may encounter things we don't expect," Free said, noting that Starliner is just the sixth US-built class of vessel for NASA astronauts.
SpaceX's Dragon capsule joined that exclusive club in 2020, following the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and space shuttle programs.
Once Starliner is fully operational, NASA hopes to alternate between SpaceX and Boeing vessels to ferry astronauts to the ISS.
In 2014, the agency awarded fixed-price contracts of $4.2 billion to Boeing and $2.6 billion to SpaceX to develop these capsules.
"Everybody thought Boeing was going to get there first," Erik Seedhouse, an associate professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told AFP.
"And so that SpaceX got there way ahead of Starliner was very embarrassing for Boeing."
Even though the ISS is due to be mothballed in 2030, both Starliner and Dragon could be used in the future to taxi humans to future private space stations, which several companies are planning to build.
F.Dubois--AMWN