Third Time's the Charm?

Boeing successfully launched its Starliner capsule into space last night as part of a key unmanned test flight that follows two previous failed attempts.

🚀 A deeper dive… Both Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts to help end NASA’s reliance on Russian launches after its shuttle program ended in 2011. But at the moment, SpaceX is the only US company capable of flying astronauts to the ISS.

• If the ongoing uncrewed test flight is successful, Boeing and NASA plan to launch a crewed test flight to the ISS before the end of the year, with the ultimate goal of using Starliner to help keep the space station continuously staffed.

✋ Yes, but: Proving that Starliner can safely carry out its mission has been a struggle for Boeing over the last three years; it first attempted to launch an uncrewed mission in 2019, but Starliner turned around before making it to the ISS due to a timing issue.

• Boeing had planned a do-over for last August, but a pre-flight check revealed issues with key valves, and the launch was delayed an additional nine months.

📅 Looking ahead… If all continues to go well, Starliner will spend the next ~15 hours free flying through orbit before docking tonight with the ISS, where it’s slated to remain for less than a week before returning to Earth.