SpaceX's biggest rivals are about to test-launch a new astronaut space taxi for the first time

Kim Shiflett/NASA

Astronauts stand before the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft during its rollout on Nov. 21, 2019.

• On Friday, Boeing plans to launch its new CST-100 Starliner spaceship into orbit for the first time atop a United Launch Alliance rocket.
• No people will ride inside the space capsule on this flight: It's a demonstration meant to show NASA the vehicle is safe to taxi astronauts to and from space.
• Starliner should lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 6:36 a.m. ET on December 20, dock with the International Space Station a day later, and return to Earth on December 27.
• NASA funded the vehicle's development through its Commercial Crew Program because the agency currently has no American ship to fly astronauts.
• SpaceX, a major competitor to Boeing and ULA, completed a similar flight test in March with its Crew Dragon capsule. Yet both companies are years behind schedule in delivering flight-approved spaceships to NASA.
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Boeing's 737 Max plane may be grounded for months to come, but the aerospace company's long-awaited spaceship for NASA astronauts is poised to take off on its maiden flight into orbit later this week.

The CST-100 Starliner, as the new Boeing spaceship is called, emerged from NASA's Commercial Crew Program over the past decade.

The program is competition between private companies for billions of dollars' worth of government spaceflight development and flight contracts. On the practical and honorary side, though, it's also a push to restore NASA's ability to launch astronauts from American soil for the first time since July 2011 - the last time a space shuttle launched.

Until a commercial spaceship proves itself worthy, though, NASA is stuck in a costly predicament of relying exclusively on Russia to taxi its astronauts to and from orbit aboard that nation's Soyuz spacecraft.

No people will ride aboard Starliner on its inaugural launch into orbit, a demonstration mission which Boeing calls the Orbital Flight Test. Rather, the flight is designed to show the ship is safe to fly NASA astronauts to and from terra firma in the near future.

Frank Michaux/NASA

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft sits atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida on Dec. 5, 2019.

Starliner now sits atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA)-built Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The spacecraft is slated to lift off at exactly 6:36 a.m. ET on Friday, December 20, dock with the International Space Station a little more than 24 hours later, and return to Earth in one piece on December 27.

If all goes well with OFT, two men and one woman will climb aboard a Starliner in mid-2020 and become its first live crew members.

America's commercial space race is heating up

NASA/Kennedy Space Center (via Flickr); Boeing; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

An illustration of a NASA astronaut flying with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon space capsules.

Starliner is one of two commercial space taxis NASA is paying to develop. Back in March, SpaceX - a major rival of both Boeing and ULA - successfully launched and landed its Crew Dragon spaceship for NASA on a mission called Demo-1.

A few months later the same Crew Dragon exploded during a ground test meant to try out the vehicle's launch escape system for astronauts. (NASA refused to share dozens of photos, videos, and audio of the failure with Business Insider after we filed an Freedom of Information Act request. The agency denied our request for the taxpayer-funded multimedia, plus an appeal, citing its right to protect SpaceX's trade secrets and other confidential information.)

Boeing has met plenty of its own challenges in developing the Starliner, including leaky fuel valves and disappointing parachute systems. As a result, both companies are years behind schedule; the first crewed launches were initially planned for late 2017.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine's frustration with such delays boiled over in the fall, when he tweeted about the problem on the eve of a big SpaceX presentation about Starship, the company's planned future rocket ship.

"NASA expects to see the same level of enthusiasm focused on the investments of the American taxpayer. It's time to deliver," he said.

NASA JSC/Boeing

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner's four launch abort engines and several orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters ignite during the company's Pad Abort Test on Nov. 4, 2019.

According to NASA, SpaceX will attempt to launch a full Crew Dragon abort test no sooner than January 2020, and then its first astronauts on the spaceship no earlier than February 2020. Boeing has already completed its launch-abort test and is targeting mid-2020 for a first crewed flight aboard Starliner.

Once the ships show they can fly people safely, billions of dollars' worth of NASA flight contracts will be on the table.

How to watch live coverage of the CST-100 Starliner launch

NASA hosted a televised press conference at 2 p.m. ET covering the details of the OFT mission. Spaceflight fans can tune in live by watching NASA TV at that time, or by using the embedded YouTube video player below.

If liftoff goes well, NASA TV also plans to broadcast key moments of the uncrewed Starliner's flight to and from space. A full schedule of events is available at the station's website.

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