Leaders from NASA and Boeing told reporters that the first crewed Starliner mission, which will see the capsule carry two astronauts to the International Space Station, is moving ahead toward its historic May 6 launch date.
Barring no issues, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will board Starliner on the evening of May 6 and take their ride on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to space.
But as opposed to SpaceX, which has completed all six missions under the original contract plus more, Boeing’s Starliner has been badly delayed by numerous technical issues.
The aerospace giant has been affected by a slew of other near-catastrophes as of late, with the company facing regulatory scrutiny due to screwups in its commercial airplane unit.
For NASA, a new spacecraft means doubling America’s astronaut transportation resources and introducing a much-needed degree of redundancy to the agency’s human spaceflight program.
“The lives of our crew members, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, are at stake,” NASA’s associate administrator, Jim Free, said.
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