It might seem like a distant memory but back in 2019 it was neck and neck between two commercial vehicles to see who would make it first to the International Space Station (ISS). Of course SpaceX won that race eventually becoming the first to launch astronauts from American soil in about a decade back in 2020. The other commercial vehicle, Boeing’s Starliner, failed to dock to the ISS in December of 2019 and has been working towards its second attempt since. That day is finally coming this Thursday.
This mission is a critical milestone for Starliner and will get it well on its path to launching astronauts from the US, greatly increasing NASA’s access to space. The success of this mission means we might be having two ships sending humans to the ISS by the end of this year! You can check out the launch for yourself on NASA TV. Coverage starts at 6pm EDT (22:00 UTC) 5/19. The launch is scheduled for 6:54 pm EDT (22:54 UTC).
