The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft rolls out to the launch complex at Cape Canaveral. Fla., May 18. The story of NASA’s commercial crew program, the bold endeavor by NASA a decade ago to outsource human spaceflight to a pair of companies, is a tale of contrast — of an improbable
Once Boeing completes the flight, NASA would certify Starliner to fly regular crew rotation missions to the space station, carrying a full contingent of four astronauts for six-month stays. NASA has been eager to get Boeing flying so that it would give the space agency another spacecraft in addition to SpaceX, which has been flying crews to the station since 2020.
Leading up to the test mission, NASA and Boeing said repeatedly that they would take the utmost care to ensure that the flight is done as safely as possible, and that the lives of the astronauts on board were the top priority. Delays are normal in spaceflight, particularly with humans on board a spacecraft that has never flown people.. In December 2019, Boeing thought Starliner was ready for its first test flight without anyone on board. It did not go well.
But since then, SpaceX has flown multiple missions for NASA, as well as taken private astronauts to the station and to orbit. It also has received an extension on its contract with NASA to fly astronaut missions.