ELMA, N.Y. — There are now two more American astronauts in space after the successful launch Wednesday morning of the Boeing Starliner space capsule.
It is another private venture collaboration with NASA for another crewed space vehicle.
2 On Your Side discovered it is also another opportunity for a Western New York-based aerospace company and its workers to show their technological skills.
While the Wednesday morning liftoff from Florida's Cape Canaveral Station may seem like the highlight, especially after many frustrating delays for Boeing, the actual upcoming docking set for Thursday with the space station for this first ever crewed flight of the Starliner capsule is just as exciting for some.
Steve Stich, who is manager of NASA's Crew Program, told reporters after the launch that "we're all set up for docking tomorrow at 12:15 Eastern for the docking time and we're looking forward to that."
And with all the spacecraft checks underway Wednesday, the focus is on the equipment to actually connect the capsule and the International Space Station so the two veteran astronauts can join others already aboard the ISS.
Stich pointed out, "We will check out the NASA docking system and extend that ring and check it out today."
Parts of that docking equipment are actually from Moog of Elma with its already well established Space and Defense group.
In this case Moog engineers, technicians, and workers designed and produced the Linear Actuation System as part of a soft capture maneuver for an autonomous or independent control docking operation.
The company's website indicates this Moog system is also being updated for Deep Space conditions as part of the upcoming Artemis return to the Moon Missions to allow astronauts to transfer between craft in the Moon's orbit for their actual lunar landings
Of course Moog also makes other actuation or precise movement control devices for launch vehicles, just as it did in the 1960s NASA Saturn Apollo moon landings.
But for now, in orbit for the Starliner astronauts and space station crew, a NASA Associate Administer said, "I sent a note to the International Space Station team, and I said, 'Hey, you know turn the porch lights on, print out the Wi-Fi password, and set the table for two more for dinner. So we got a couple people coming to visit, and it's just an awesome mission."
The man and woman astronaut crew aboard the Starliner are again expected to dock tomorrow with the ISS, and then spend about a week with other astronauts and cosmonauts on the space station before returning to Earth.
So the Boeing Starliner is designed to be another space ferry ship like the Space X Crew Dragon and Moog is naturally involved with this Boeing space project.
