Spaceflight Insider

SpaceX successfully launches CRS-20, recovers their 50th Falcon 9 Booster

Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Cold Static Test of Second Stage for OmegA Rocket

SpaceX successfully launches fourth batch of Starlink satellites

Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort’s successful completion clears way for crewed flights

Boeing’s Starliner capsule begins much-delayed first flight: UPDATE

Northrop Grumman’s NG 12 paints the sky in honor of an American legend

Delta IV Medium ends 17-Year run with 100% success

CRS-18 Falcon and Dragon brave storms to begin 18th ISS flight

Night time is the right time for SpaceX STP-2 mission

Anomaly occurs during OmegA first stage static fire test

Boeing CST-100 Starliner Testing Deficiencies Identified

Michael McCabe March 9th Cape Canaveral, FL – Details are emerging about exactly what and how testing was performed prior to Boeing launching their Starliner test capsule on December 20, 2019, a flight which resulted in a mixed outcome instead of what was supposed to be a resounding and highly anticipated success.

Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Cold Static Test of Second Stage for OmegA Rocket

Patrick Attwell February 28th PROMONTORY, Utah – Feb. 28, 2020 – Northrop Grumman has successfully completed a cold static test of the second stage of its OmegA rocket in Promontory, Utah, completing the full-duration (approx. 140 seconds) firing on the afternoon of February 27.

New Horizons parallax project seeks public participation

Laurel Kornfeld February 21st NASA’s New Horizons mission is seeking public participation in a project aimed at imaging the two closest stars, Proxima Centauri and Wolf 359, from Earth on April 22 and 23, the same day the spacecraft will photograph them from almost five billion miles (eight billion km) away.

Pluto’s heart feature controls its winds

Laurel Kornfeld February 20th Pluto’s iconic heart feature, named Tombaugh Regio, functions as a “beating heart” that controls the small planet’s winds and might even play a role in shaping its surface features.

Arrokoth data sheds light on planet formation

Laurel Kornfeld February 19th Data returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft taken during its January 2019 flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth, also known as 2014 MU 69, located four billion miles from Earth, supports the theory that planet formation in the solar system occurred in a gentle rather than violent process.

ULA successfully launches Solar Probe aboard Atlas V

Theresa Cross February 10th CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched a NASA probe its way to our Sun. At 11:03 p.m. EDT, February 9, the rocket left Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Pluto’s hazy atmosphere is similar to that of Titan

Laurel Kornfeld February 2nd Pluto is often compared to Neptune’s largest moon Triton, but its hazy atmosphere is actually more akin to that of Saturn’s largest moon Titan, which is sometimes viewed as an analog of early Earth.

Artemis I Orion spacecraft advancing through tests at Plum Brook Station

Michael Cole January 31st SANDUSKY, OHIO — Testing is fully underway on the Orion spacecraft for the upcoming Artemis I test flight mission at NASA’s Plum Brook Station testing facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The Orion crew capsule, integrated with its European Service Module, is currently inside the facility’s Space Environments Complex undergoing thermal vacuum tests in the largest thermal vacuum chamber in the world.

SpaceX successfully launches fourth batch of Starlink satellites

Theresa Cross January 29th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX launched their fourth batch of approximately 60 satellites for the Starlink broadband network at 9:06am EDT, January 29, after carefully “evaluating extreme weather in the recovery area,” according to SpaceX.

NASA broadcast celebrates Spitzer telescope’s accomplishments

Laurel Kornfeld January 24th In a live broadcast on Wednesday, January 22, NASA celebrated 16 years of incredible accomplishments by the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of its four “Great Observatories” in space.

Spitzer telescope to be decommissioned after 16 years

Laurel Kornfeld January 20th NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which has studied the universe in infrared light since its launch in August of 2003, will be decommissioned on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Gallery: SpaceX’s Dragon clears safety check paving way for crewed missions

Michael McCabe January 19th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Images from the Jan. 19 test of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft which successfully demonstrated the vehicle’s ability to pull astronauts away from the rocket in the event of an accident on its way to orbit.

Boeing CST-100 Starliner Testing Deficiencies Identified

Michael McCabe March 9th Cape Canaveral, FL – Details are emerging about exactly what and how testing was performed prior to Boeing launching their Starliner test capsule on December 20, 2019, a flight which resulted in a mixed outcome instead of what was supposed to be a resounding and highly anticipated success.

Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Cold Static Test of Second Stage for OmegA Rocket

Patrick Attwell February 28th PROMONTORY, Utah – Feb. 28, 2020 – Northrop Grumman has successfully completed a cold static test of the second stage of its OmegA rocket in Promontory, Utah, completing the full-duration (approx. 140 seconds) firing on the afternoon of February 27.

Artemis I Orion spacecraft advancing through tests at Plum Brook Station

Michael Cole January 31st SANDUSKY, OHIO — Testing is fully underway on the Orion spacecraft for the upcoming Artemis I test flight mission at NASA’s Plum Brook Station testing facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The Orion crew capsule, integrated with its European Service Module, is currently inside the facility’s Space Environments Complex undergoing thermal vacuum tests in the largest thermal vacuum chamber in the world.

SpaceX successfully launches fourth batch of Starlink satellites

Theresa Cross January 29th CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX launched their fourth batch of approximately 60 satellites for the Starlink broadband network at 9:06am EDT, January 29, after carefully “evaluating extreme weather in the recovery area,” according to SpaceX.

Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort’s successful completion clears way for crewed flights

Theresa Cross January 19th SpaceX successfully completed yet another milestone under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to send astronauts to the International Space Station – the In Flight Abort Test.

SuperDraco engines set to be tested during SpaceX in-flight abort

Theresa Cross January 19th KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — With the in-flight Crew Dragon abort test set to launch in less than an hour, let’s take a look into the incredibly powerful and spacecraft specific SuperDraco engine.

SpaceX, NASA monitoring weather ahead of in-flight abort test.

Sean Costello January 19th CAPE CANAVERAL. Fla. — As the sun rises and the shorelines of the Space Coast communities fill with eager spectators, SpaceX and NASA engineers have their attention focused on the early Sunday morning weather systems.

SpaceX poised to take large step toward human space flight

Cullen Desforges January 17th SpaceX is ready to check off another box on the list of requirements that need to be completed before the company can send crewed missions to the International Space Station.

NASA graduates its newest class of Astronauts

Sean Costello January 10th As NASA prepares to send astronauts to destinations far beyond Earth, a new breed of space flyers has joined the elite cadre of the agency’s astronaut corps.

New Year, new headquarters for Blue Origin

Laurel Kornfeld January 9th With Blue Origin opening its new headquarters, 2020 appears to be a year of further expansion for NewSpace.

SpaceX starts 2020 with Starlink launch

Patrick Attwell January 6th SpaceX’s Starlink constellation just got a major boost.

What’s in a name? Mars 2020 wouldn’t know, it doesn’t have one – yet

James Rice December 30th NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is on the verge of traveling to the Red Planet and beginning its search for evidence of Martian life. But it’s missing something very important.

Launch of Shijian 20 lights up Chinese skies and exploration ambitions

SpaceFlight Insider December 28th China has big plans for its space program. But before it can achieve them, it needed to make sure a key launch vehicle was up to the task. A recent mission suggests that it is.

Russia launches final Rockot with trio of communications satellites

SpaceFlight Insider December 27th Russia launched its final mission on the nation’s 2019 manifest when it sent three communications satellites to orbit on Friday, Dec. 27. The flight marked the close of a vehicle designed for violence.

Boeing Blunder! Starliner timing failure prevents ISS rendezvous

SpaceFlight Insider December 20th “Unplanned but stable.” That’s how Boeing referred to the first flight of its Starliner “space taxi.” In layman’s terms, the spacecraft was placed in the wrong orbit and won’t be going to the International Space Station.

Boeing’s Starliner capsule begins much-delayed first flight: UPDATE

Cullen Desforges December 20th CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – After almost a year of continued delays, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner has finally launched. It is the culmination of years of development, but there’s still a ways to go before astronauts will be soaring aloft in the vehicle.

New Horizons parallax project seeks public participation

February 21st
NASA’s New Horizons mission is seeking public participation in a project aimed at imaging the two closest stars, Proxima Centauri and Wolf 359, from Earth on April 22 and 23, the same day the spacecraft will photograph them from almost five billion miles (eight billion km) away.

Pluto’s heart feature controls its winds

February 20th
Pluto’s iconic heart feature, named Tombaugh Regio, functions as a “beating heart” that controls the small planet’s winds and might even play a role in shaping its surface features.

Arrokoth data sheds light on planet formation

February 19th
Data returned by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft taken during its January 2019 flyby of Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth, also known as 2014 MU 69, located four billion miles from Earth, supports the theory that planet formation in the solar system occurred in a gentle rather than violent process.

ULA successfully launches Solar Probe aboard Atlas V

February 10th
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched a NASA probe its way to our Sun. At 11:03 p.m. EDT, February 9, the rocket left Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Pluto’s hazy atmosphere is similar to that of Titan

February 2nd
Pluto is often compared to Neptune’s largest moon Triton, but its hazy atmosphere is actually more akin to that of Saturn’s largest moon Titan, which is sometimes viewed as an analog of early Earth.

NASA broadcast celebrates Spitzer telescope’s accomplishments

January 24th
In a live broadcast on Wednesday, January 22, NASA celebrated 16 years of incredible accomplishments by the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of its four “Great Observatories” in space.

Spitzer telescope to be decommissioned after 16 years

January 20th
NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, which has studied the universe in infrared light since its launch in August of 2003, will be decommissioned on Thursday, January 30, 2020.

Gallery: SpaceX’s Dragon clears safety check paving way for crewed missions

No in-flight abort for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft today

January 18th
SpaceX has been forced to stand down from today’s attempt to test out a critical element of the company’s crew-rated spacecraft.

Boeing releases video from recent OFT mission

January 16th
Boeing has released video from its failed attempt to send its “Starliner” spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Processing of Starlink 2 booster underway, following return to Port Canaveral

January 11th
SpaceX’s B1049.4 returned to Port Canaveral January 9, 2020 after the completion of its fourth flown mission delivering the third set of Starlink satellites into low-Earth-orbit (LEO). This is Spacex’s first launch supported by the newly-created U.S. Space Force and its forty-eighth successful booster recovery.

CRS-19 Dragon wet and waiting for next mission

January 7th
After spending nearly a month berthed to the International Space Station, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule left the Station and splashed down marking the successful completion of its mission.

OPINION: 2019 – Numbers and Names

January 1st
Well that happened. 2019 was a roller-coaster of ups and downs that will have far-reaching consequences for future space exploration efforts.

SpaceX prepares for first of many Starlink launches in 2020

December 31st
2020 looks to be a big year for space. The next twelve months could see the U.S. regain a long-lost capability and another rover should be sent on its way to the Red Planet. SpaceX is planning to kick off 2020 with the launch of the next batch of Starlink satellites.

NASA Mars 2020 rover passes driving test

December 27th
Remember how stressful it was taking your first driver’s test? Now imagine driving a car that’s worth $2.5 billion.

SpaceFlight Insider

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About

Who are we?

SpaceFlight Insider is a team of individuals working to produce daily content in the form of stories, exclusive interviews, a photographic library, videos, live webcasts and more. In total more than 100 pieces of content are produced each month along with coverage of launches around the world.

What we feature

In the last few years, SpaceFlight Insider has created one of the best launch calendars currently in use. Additionally, we have an ever-expanding gallery of photographs and video packages and an array of assets including fleets of remote still and video cameras which collect imagery from the pads themselves during launches.

At present, SpaceFlight Insider is the only comparable media outlet to host live webcasts during launches at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (we hope to expand that to other locations in the near future).

Importantly, the “Insider” in our name is not us, rather it references you. We do our best to bring you as much information about the space industry to make you an insider. For example, if a user has a question, we do our best to get an answer from someone in the industry, be it an astronaut or an engineer working on a spacecraft.

Additionally, we feature multiple small things that improve the experience of our viewers, including a feature on the upper right side of the website that changes the style from dark with white text to a more traditional light with black text.

Why do we need your help?

Providing these services is a labor of love for the SpaceFlight Insider team. However, regular travel, equipment procurement and maintenance, as well as paying editors, writers and photographers consumes much of what funds we have managed to acquire so far. All of these efforts require a great deal of infrastructure, manpower and coordination to achieve.

We want to create a place where people can turn to for all the information they want regarding space exploration and development. We want to deliver high quality video, audio, imagery and much more to give you an insider’s view of the whole industry. We will go so far as to take your questions directly to those officials within NASA and other space-related organizations.

Two big items we are working on right now include increasing the quality of our SFI Live shows and adding to a new section of our website called, “The Hangar.”

For the live show, we currently broadcast during most launches at Cape Canaveral. However, we want to begin streaming in high quality from the remote areas most launch facilities are located. But since enough mobile data is hard to come by a special device is needed for higher quality. We already have this device, but the cost to use it per month is nearly $1,000.

We also want to purchase equipment to support our live webcasts, including professional camera equipment, a sound mixing board, a pop up tent, and lights, just to name a few. These will also help us with exclusive interviews as well.

Here is an example of one of our high quality shows:

The Hangar is a database of launch vehicles, spacecraft and more. We want to provide you with all the information you could want from the basic all the way down to the details.

We plan on rolling this feature out on our website in phases, but to “finish” it will take a lot of hard work and dedication. We’d like to be able to pay those on our team that work on it.

Why should you care?

We are a news organization that prides ourselves with telling the whole story of space exploration, both the good, the bad as well as the ugly. As journalists, we don’t pick favorites. That doesn’t mean we want anybody to fail – just the opposite. We want to see every space organization succeed, but in order for that to happen, truth and facts need to be reported.

We also do what many other outlets (especially in terms of our live webcasts) have ceased to do in the post-shuttle era, and will continue to do so.

Our team has decades of experience covering the space program and we are focused on providing you with the absolute latest on all things space. If we can’t pay the bills, let alone our staff – which currently consists of mostly volunteers and hard-working space enthusiasts – then we can’t do everything we can to share the thrill of space exploration with the world.

If you like space, and want more space news, launch videos, images and podcasts, then help us by becoming a Patron of SpaceFlight Insider.

Spaceflightinsider

At Bold Marketing Solutions, Inc., we love to spread news news about our friends. Check out our new Articles menu for information about friends and resources. This article, posted November 24, 2014, is about SpaceFlight Insider, an online magazine delivering news on the space program and space exploration.

SpaceFlightInsider.com
Delivers More than Just News about Space Exploration

Look across the night sky; marvel at the sparkling constellations shining down on you; and breathe in the fact that you are blind to a gazillion stars burning brightly out of view. From the beginning of time as we know it, people like you and me have watched the skies and wondered about the immense promise and mysteries of the heavens. Where will the answers come from? The answer is likely in space exploration. Spaceflight Insider brings real-time answers about this topic closer through diverse and objective perspectives on aerospace and aviation in one comprehensive online publication.

SpaceflightInsider.com—Space Information Platform
PHOTO CAPTION: British Lunar Mission Team rendering for crowdfunded moon mission. Courtesy of SpaceFlightInsider.com

Senior Editor and Spaceflight Insider Founder Jason Rhian noticed that existing space information resources typically delivered news through very specific mediums, based on individual niche interests and business strengths. That observation Rhian to wonder what if a single news outet offered what all of them did in one comprehensive space—compelling photos, a launch schedule, and current news? What if the medium also provided the news objectively, e.g., without political filters?

The result of his musing is a stunning website chocked full of information for aerospace and aviation enthusiasts. Before launching Spaceflight Insider, Rhian contributed to Space.com, Aviation Week, and Universe Today; and he also completed two internships with NASA.

Now Rhian says, “We put all the primary building blocks in place over the past year, and we are excited to debut our first live (video) launch show in December.” That announcement was made possible after constructing the infrastructure needed to transform his concept into a serious media vehicle.

“We want readers to say, “Holy Cow! Everything is here,” Rhian said. “If you’re looking for a brief on a specific launch, space news, photography and illustrations, or even industry contacts, Spaceflight Insider is organizing it for you.“

Telling It Like It Is

Formerly a corrections officer with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office—and inspired by what he believed was inaccurate reporting on the Columbia disaster—Rhian decided in 2003 to pursue his passion for space. “When Columbia exploded, everybody on TV from the space industry acted as if they were better authorities than other people. They seemed to be reporting opinion as fact. Some were saying things that I knew was false. Other people were asking questions that were ridiculous or presenting crazy information as fact. I noticed and remember one major media outlet getting so many things wrong. And I thought that was wrong and rather than get upset – I should do something about it.”

Rhian, who believed that the job of the journalist was to get the facts right, headed to college to learn how to make that happen. “I went back to BCC (Brevard Community College), got my two-year degree, then resigned from the Sheriff’s Office and entered the University of South Florida to pursue my bachelor’s degree in pubic relations.”

Admitting that he doesn’t come from academia, or even the space industry itself, Rhian expressed his goal to deliver an outside, unbiased, journalistic perspective through his online journal.

“But, we also take the time to connect on ‘the inside’. For example, we get people access to events, open doors for them, and help them enjoy what’s happening with launches and space events. As a soldier and corrections officer, I had served my community for 14 years. Now, I am giving myself over to serving the community by telling the space story as honestly and fairly as possible,” Rhian said.

Why does story telling concern Rhian? “There are some space websites whose content delivers vehement opposition to private space comapnies for example. Prejudices also abound about NASA programs and show through in other written reports.” At Spaceflight Insider, we view ourselves first as journalists. We present news openly and objectively. We don’t judge. We report. That’s it. Our job is to tell the story as it is, not as how we would like it to be.” he added.

Spaceflightinsider

China’s Quantum Science Satellite, nicknamed “Micius” (after a fifth century B.C. Chinese scientist) has performed the first intercontinental quantum key distribution by relaying signals between multiple ground stations located in China and Austria.

The test was conducted by a joint China-Austria team of researchers. In a recent study published in Physical Review Letters on January 19, they reported that a decoy-state quantum key distribution between Micius operating in a low-Earth orbit (LEO) and ground stations located in Xinglong, Nanshan (both in China), and Graz (Austria).

“This is the first demonstration of intercontinental quantum key distribution of any kind, and it will stand as a milestone towards future quantum networks,” said Ronald Hanson of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, whose research focuses on long-distance quantum telecommunication for a quantum internet.

Micius was launched into space on August 15, 2016 by a Long March 2D booster. The satellite was built by the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( CAS ) and weighs around 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms).

The spacecraft is designed to facilitate quantum optics experiments over long distances to allow the development of quantum encryption and quantum teleportation technology.

In order to achieve its scientific objectives, the satellite is equipped with a quantum key communicator, a quantum entanglement emitter, a quantum entanglement source, a quantum experiment controller and processor, and a high-speed coherent laser communicator.

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a communications method which uses a cryptographic protocol involving components of quantum mechanics. It is based on individual light quanta (single photons) in quantum superposition states that guarantee unconditional security between distant parties. This method is therefore perceived as being more secure than the traditional public key cryptography (which usually relies on the computational intractability of certain mathematical functions).

Now, a team of researchers led by Jian-Wei Pan of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei, are working to successful demonstrate the use of QKD using laser beams.

As part of the experiment, Micius has relayed quantum encrypted data in the form of images and a video stream between China and Austria – over a distance of 4,700 miles (7,600 kilometers).

“This was, on the one hand, the transmission of images in a one-time pad configuration from China to Austria as well as from Austria to China. Also, a video conference was performed between the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which also included a 280 kilometer [174 mile] optical ground connection between Xinglong and Beijing,” the scientists wrote in the paper .

Micius is part of an international project called Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS), led by Chinese scientists. It aims to establish a quantum-encrypted network – a European–Asian network is planned to be launched by 2020, while a global network by 2030. Pan and his colleagues believe that the latest tests conducted with the use of Micius bring them much closer towards building an ultra-long-distance global quantum network.

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule launches on 1st space flight

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing’s new Starliner capsule rocketed toward the International Space Station on its first test flight Friday, a crucial dress rehearsal for next year’s inaugural launch with astronauts.

The Starliner carried Christmas treats and presents for the six space station residents, hundreds of tree seeds similar to those that flew to the moon on Apollo 14, the original air travel ID card belonging to Boeing’s founder and a mannequin named Rosie in the commander’s seat.

The test dummy — named after the bicep-flexing riveter of World War II — wore a red polka dot hair bandanna just like the original Rosie and Boeing’s custom royal blue spacesuit.

“She’s pretty tough. She’s going to take the hit for us,” said NASA’s Mike Fincke, one of three astronauts who will fly on the next Starliner and, as test pilots, take the hit for future crews.

As the astronauts watched from nearby control centers, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the capsule blasted off just before sunrise from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was a one-day trip to the space station, putting the spacecraft on track for a docking Saturday morning.

This was Boeing’s chance to catch up with SpaceX, NASA’s other commercial crew provider that completed a similar demonstration last March. SpaceX has one last hurdle — a launch abort test — before carrying two NASA astronauts in its Dragon capsule, possibly by spring.

The U.S. needs competition like this, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Thursday, to drive down launch costs, boost innovation and open space up to more people.

“We’re moving into a new era,” he said.

The space agency handed over station deliveries to private businesses, first cargo and then crews, in order to focus on getting astronauts back to the moon and on to Mars.

Commercial cargo ships took flight in 2012, starting with SpaceX. Crew capsules were more complicated to design and build, and parachute and other technical problems pushed the first launches from 2017 to now next year.

It’s been nearly nine years since NASA astronauts have launched from the U.S. The last time was July 8, 2011, when Atlantis — now on display at Kennedy Space Center — made the final space shuttle flight.

Since then, NASA astronauts have traveled to and from the space station via Kazakhstan, courtesy of the Russian Space Agency. The Soyuz rides have cost NASA up to $86 million apiece.

“We’re back with a vengeance now,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said from Kennedy, where crowds gathered well before dawn.

Chris Ferguson commanded that last shuttle mission. Now a test pilot astronaut for Boeing and one of the Starliner’s key developers, he’s assigned to the first Starliner crew with Fincke and NASA astronaut Nicole Mann. A successful Starliner demo could see them launching by summer.

“This is an incredibly unique opportunity,” Ferguson said on the eve of launch.

Mann juggled a mix of emotions: excitement, pride, stress and amazement.

“Really overwhelmed, but in a good way and really the best of ways,” she said.

Built to accommodate seven, the white capsule with black and blue trim will typically carry four or five people. It’s 16.5 feet (5 meters) tall with its attached service module and 15 feet (4.5 meters) in diameter.

Every Starliner system will be tested during the eight-day mission, from the vibrations and stresses of liftoff to the Dec. 28 touchdown at the Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Parachutes and air bags will soften the capsule’s landing. Even the test dummy is packed with sensors.

Bridenstine said he’s “very comfortable” with Boeing, despite the prolonged grounding of the company’s 737 Max jets. The spacecraft and aircraft sides of the company are different, he noted. Boeing has long been involved in NASA’s human spacecraft program, from Project Mercury to the shuttle and station programs.

Boeing began preliminary work on the Starliner in 2010, a year before Atlantis soared for the last time.

In 2014, Boeing and SpaceX made the final cut. Boeing got more than $4 billion to develop and fly the Starliner, while SpaceX got $2.6 billion for a crew-version of its Dragon cargo ship.

NASA wants to make sure every reasonable precaution is taken with the capsules, designed to be safer than NASA’s old shuttles.

“We’re talking about human spaceflight,” Bridenstine cautioned. “It’s not for the faint of heart. It never has been, and it’s never going to be.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.