If everything goes well, two or three NASA test pilots could strap in by the end of this year or early next for the company’s first crew flight.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Boeing’s crew capsule rocketed into orbit Thursday on a repeat test flight without astronauts, after years of being grounded by flaws that could have doomed the spacecraft.
After dozens of safety fixes, Boeing returned a different capsule to the launch pad last summer. Corroded valves halted the countdown, resulting in another round of repairs.“We’re not going to fly [crews] unless we feel like we’ve bought down the risk,” NASA space operations chief Kathy Lueders stressed on the eve of liftoff.
“We always, in this case, want to have a backup,” Nelson told The Associated Press hours before liftoff.
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