After facing numerous challenges and exceeding its budget by approximately $1.5 billion, Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule is preparing for its inaugural manned flight. A decade ago, Boeing and SpaceX were selected by NASA to create a spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts from the US to the International Space Station (ISS), reducing NASA’s dependence on Russia for crewed missions. Boeing received $4.2 billion for its CST-100 (Starliner) while SpaceX was awarded $2.6 billion for its Crew Dragon under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Although the original target for completion was 2017, SpaceX achieved its first crewed flight in 2020, with several more following, while Boeing faced delays in launching its Starliner capsule. However, on May 6, the Starliner is set to embark on its first manned mission.
Currently, the Starliner is stationed at Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, attached to the ULA Atlas rocket…
2024-05-03 09:00:56
Originally posted on www.engadget.com