American aerospace company Boeing’s Starliner was supposed to take 400 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station Tuesday, but a mechanical issue delayed the launch until Wednesday.Seasoned astronaut Colonel Mike Fincke, a proud Pittsburgh native, could be on the next Boeing flight if Wednesday’s launch goes well. Fincke is part of the public/private partnership project between NASA and Boeing. If the Starliner’s unmanned launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida succeeds, Fincke will be on the next flight in possibly just a few months.Fincke previously held the record for “the American with most time in space” at 381 days, which has since been broken, but this next mission could be his chance to reclaim the title. “We’ll see,” Fincke said. “Because it’s a test flight, we don’t know if our mission is going to be eight days or eight months.”Fincke said it’s not about records for him; it’s about advancing space exploration.”The average person can go fly in space and touch the edge of space in a sub-orbital mission, so there’s really an exciting time, and it’s getting bigger and faster,” Fincke said.He will serve as the joint operations commander on Boeing’s first crewed flight hopefully later this year.
American aerospace company Boeing’s Starliner was supposed to take 400 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station Tuesday, but a mechanical issue delayed the launch until Wednesday.
Seasoned astronaut Colonel Mike Fincke, a proud Pittsburgh native, could be on the next Boeing flight if Wednesday’s launch goes well.
Fincke is part of the public/private partnership project between NASA and Boeing. If the Starliner’s unmanned launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida succeeds, Fincke will be on the next flight in possibly just a few months.
Fincke previously held the record for “the American with most time in space” at 381 days, which has since been broken, but this next mission could be his chance to reclaim the title.
“We’ll see,” Fincke said. “Because it’s a test flight, we don’t know if our mission is going to be eight days or eight months.”
Fincke said it’s not about records for him; it’s about advancing space exploration.
“The average person can go fly in space and touch the edge of space in a sub-orbital mission, so there’s really an exciting time, and it’s getting bigger and faster,” Fincke said.
He will serve as the joint operations commander on Boeing’s first crewed flight hopefully later this year.
