Boeing and NASA ready first crewed Starliner flight
Two NASA astronauts are heading to the International Space Station
What happened
Boeing's Starliner capsule is scheduled to make its first crewed flight from Florida's Cape Canaveral on Monday night, launched atop an Atlas V rocket. The test flight, following years of delay, will carry veteran NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore to the International Space Station. NASA contracted with Boeing and Elon Musk's SpaceX in 2014 to develop spacecraft to shuttle astronauts to the ISS; SpaceX has completed nine crewed missions since 2020.
Who said what
SpaceX has delivered, but NASA wants two different ISS transport vehicles because "you're just one flight away from some anomaly that you didn't catch," said NASA program manager Steve Stich to The Wall Street Journal. "Spaceflight is risky" and "unforgiving of mistakes," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson added. "NASA is integrated with Boeing to make sure that this flight is as safe as possible."
What next?
Starliner should reach the ISS in 26 hours and return the astronauts to Earth eight days later, touching down on land in the U.S. Southwest. Assuming the test flight goes well, Boeing will complete at least six crewed missions for NASA, alternating with SpaceX.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Why India's medical schools are running low on bodies
Under The Radar A shortage of cadavers to train on is forcing institutions to go digital
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine solutions - November 22, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 22, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - November 22, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 22, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
Speed Read An analysis of skeletal remains reveals that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Humans are near peak life expectancy, study finds
Speed Read Unless there is a transformative breakthrough in medical science, people on average will reach the age of 87
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Nasa mission to probe possibility of life on Europa
Speed Read Exploration of Jupiter's icy moon could reveal how common habitable environments are in the universe
By The Week UK Published
-
Polaris Dawn sets records for private space flight
SpaceX has launched billionaire Jared Isaacman and his crew high above Earth to conduct the first private spacewalk
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing's Starliner to come home empty
Speed Read Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore will return on a SpaceX spacecraft in February
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is billionaire's 'risky' space flight about research or tourism?
In the Spotlight Jared Isaacman takes an all-private crew to space
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Nasa's astronauts: stranded in space
In the Spotlight Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's eight-day trip to the ISS has now stretched into weeks amid concerns over their Starliner spacecraft
By The Week UK Published