Thursday afternoon, Boeing is slated to launch its passenger spacecraft, the CST-100 Starliner, to the International Space Station for the second time without people on board. The mission, called OFT-2, is part of an elaborate dress rehearsal that will help pave the way for people to ride on the vehicle in the future.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s mission is a critical milestone as Boeing works to certify the vehicle for human spaceflight. Boeing developed Starliner as part of NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program, an initiative that tasked private companies with developing spacecraft capable of carrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. NASA\u2019s other Commercial Crew provider, SpaceX, is already ferrying astronauts to the ISS on a regular basis. But having Boeing\u2019s Starliner in the mix will give NASA what it likes to call \u201cdissimilar redundancy\u201d \u2014 two different transportation options in case one goes out of commission.<\/p>\n