Enlarge / Boeing's Starliner spacecraft approaches the International Space Station on Thursday. (credit: NASA TV)

A little more than a day after launching into space, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft flew up to the International Space Station and docked with the orbiting laboratory on Thursday.

The journey through space was not always easy. In the immediate hours after launch on Wednesday, the spacecraft was beset by two helium leaks in its propulsion system. Then, on Thursday, several of Starliner's spacecraft thrusters went offline for a time. Far more often than originally planned, spacecraft commander Butch Wilmore had to take manual control of Starliner while engineers on the ground worked on these and other issues.

However, at 1:34 pm ET on Thursday, Wilmore and the mission's other crew member, Suni Williams, successfully docked with the space station. A couple of hours later, they floated through the hatch, making a triumphant entry onto the station—and making history.

Enlarge / Boeing's Starliner capsule lifts off aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket. (credit: United Launch Alliance)

After years of delays, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft finally rocketed into orbit from Florida on Wednesday, sending two veteran NASA astronauts on a long-delayed shakedown cruise to the International Space Station.

The Starliner capsule lifted off at 10:52 am EDT (14:52 UTC) on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Fifteen minutes later, after shedding two strap-on boosters and a core stage powered by a Russian RD-180 engine, the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage released Starliner right on target to begin a nearly 26-hour pursuit of the space station. Docking at the space station is set for 12:15 pm EDT (16:15 UTC) Thursday, where NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will spend at least a week before coming back to Earth.

In remarks shortly after Wednesday's launch, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Wilmore and Williams, both former US Navy pilots, will "test this thing from izzard to gizzard" to ensure Boeing's Starliner is ready for operational six-month crew rotation missions to the ISS.