Boeing has been working diligently on its Starliner spacecraft to compete with SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule and enhance the United States' options for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
SpaceX has emerged as NASA's primary transportation provider for astronauts under the commercial program. However, Boeing's Starliner is poised to be a significant milestone as NASA considers it for regular operations to ferry astronauts and cargo to the ISS.
According to Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, having two reliable space transportation systems is crucial. The retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle program in 2011 left the agency reliant on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft for transporting astronauts to the ISS.
The landscape changed with SpaceX's successful Demo-2 mission in 2020. Now, Boeing aims to achieve a similar certification for Starliner following a successful launch.
United Launch Alliance's President and CEO, Tory Bruno, emphasized the importance of having multiple US spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the ISS. He stressed the need for redundancy in space transportation systems to ensure reliable access to space.
As the final major milestone before potential routine operations, the upcoming Starliner launch holds significant importance for Boeing and NASA. The successful deployment of Starliner would mark a crucial step towards establishing a robust and redundant system for transporting astronauts and cargo to the ISS.
