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00:00At last, NASA pilots Simon Williams and Butch Wilmore float up the tube from their capsule
00:07and into the arms of their colleagues, 400 kilometres above Earth.
00:11Yeah, I just want to say a big thanks to family and friends who've lived this for a long time
00:19and I think you're glad we're not with you anymore.
00:25After inching towards the International Space Station, the Starliner vessel clasped on,
00:30marking success for Boeing's first crewed spaceflight after years of delays.
00:38Rival SpaceX has been ferrying astronauts to and from the ISS since 2020, the year Boeing
00:43hoped to begin its own taxi service.
00:47The launch was delayed again in recent weeks because of a helium leak.
00:51One was flown despite the leak, only for more of them to spring during the mission.
00:56And five of the capsule's 28 thrusters temporarily shut down, delaying docking.
01:02NASA said the issues wouldn't prevent the capsule from being certified for regular use.
01:07Those are pretty small really issues to go deal with and we'll figure them out for the
01:13next mission, so I don't see these as significant at all.
01:18The two astronauts will spend a week aboard the ISS before taking the Starliner back to
01:22Earth.