Boeing tries again to launch NASA astronauts for the first time after latest round of repairs

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing is gearing up again for its first astronaut launch. Liftoff is scheduled for Wednesday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It’s the third launch attempt for NASA test pilots riding Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Rocket-related trouble thwarted the first two countdowns. NASA hired Boeing along with SpaceX after the space shuttles retired to transport astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX has been ferrying astronauts since 2020. Boeing should have launched astronauts around the same time, but its first test flight without a crew in 2019 was plagued by severe software issues and never made it to the space station.