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Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the latest entry to space travel

In this photo provided by NASA, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, for mounting on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station for the agency's Commercial Crew Program. The first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board is scheduled for Monday, May 6, 2024. (Kim Shiflett/NASA via AP) In this photo provided by NASA, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, for mounting on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station for the agency's Commercial Crew Program. The first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board is scheduled for Monday, May 6, 2024. (Kim Shiflett/NASA via AP)

By MARCIA DUNN / Associated Press May 4, 2024 5 min read

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After years of delays and stumbles, Boeing is finally poised to launch astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.

It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.

NASA turned to U.S. companies for astronaut rides after the space shuttles were retired. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has made nine taxi trips for NASA since 2020, while Boeing has managed only a pair of unoccupied test flights.

Boeing program manager Mark Nappi wishes Starliner was further along. “There’s no doubt about that, but we’re here now.”

The company’s long-awaited astronaut demo is slated for liftoff Monday night.