Boeing counts down again to its first astronaut launch on a long-delayed test flight for NASA

Boeing’s Starliner capsule, atop an Atlas V rocket, sits on the launch pad during sunrise at Space Launch Complex 41 on June 1, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
| Photo Credit: AP

Boeing took another crack on June 1 at launching astronauts for the first time aboard its new space capsule, after a delay for leak checks and rocket repairs.

The company’s Starliner capsule was due to rocket away at midday with a pair of test pilots to the International Space Station for a weeklong stay.

The test drive should have happened years ago. But problems kept piling up, most recently a leak that went unnoticed until the first launch attempt with a crew in early May.

NASA wants a backup to SpaceX, which has been flying astronauts for four years.

United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket is providing the lift from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.