Already years late, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft continues to face delays as it prepares to launch NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams into space.
The latest delay came as a problem with its ride to orbit, an Atlas V rocket, caused the first launch attempt late on May 6, 2024, to be scrubbed.
When it does launch from the Kennedy Space Center, no earlier than May 10, this last crucial test for Starliner will try out the new spacecraft and take the pair to the International Space Station for about a week.
From my perspective as a space policy expert, Starliner’s launch represents another significant milestone in the development of the commercial space industry. But the mission’s troubled history also shows just how difficult the path to space can be, even for an experienced company like Boeing.
Origins and development
Following the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle in 2011, NASA invited commercial space companies to help the agency transport cargo and crew to the International Space Station.
In 2014, NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX to build their respective crew vehicles: Starliner and Dragon.
