Boeing's "Starliner" ready for flight

Well, on this launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA and Boeing are counting down to a high stakes test flight of Boeing's new Starliner spaceship. Now, nobody is going to be in this capsule for today's flight, but Boeing needs to prove that the Starliner can fly safely to and from the International Space Station before astronauts are cleared for future trips. Mark Strassmann is at the Kennedy Space Center with more on this story. Hey, Mark. Good morning to you.

Hey, Gayle. Good morning to you. Boeing Starliner flies autonomously, but as you recall, 18 months ago, software issues derailed the first test flight. So today's launch is essentially the company's expensive do-over. And its main customer is NASA, and NASA will be watching closely. - Three, two, one, and liftoff!

Space is hard, so hard it can make even the biggest aerospace company in the world feel small. [ROCKET BLASTING] - Eagle is now passing through max D, maximum dynamic pressure.

For Boeing, that was December 2019. - And we have good indication of separation of the OFT capsule.

Minutes after separating from the rocket's second stage, Boeing Starliner flew into trouble. Its onboard engines were supposed to fire, boosting the spacecraft into orbit. That did not happen. - And we do have an off-nominal insertion reported.

Another problem. Flight controllers could not communicate with Starliner. By the time they could, it was too late. Without enough fuel left to reach the International Space Station, Starliner returned to Earth. - And Starliner touches down in the desert in New Mexico.

A NASA Boeing investigation recommended 80 actions before Starliner should fly again.

We addressed every single one.

Former NASA astronaut Chris Ferguson has spent the last decade developing Boeing Starliner. Was it humbling?

I think humbling is a good word to use. It was a good cause, at least for everyone involved in this program to take a step back and look and see where we came up short, and we needed to sort of bolster. And I think, company-wide, that there was a lot of introspection.

In 2014, NASA awarded SpaceX and Boeing multibillion-dollar contracts to ferry its astronauts to and from the ISS. Both companies suffered setbacks. - And look at them go!

But SpaceX has flown 10 astronauts over three flights to the ISS in the last year. Do you still believe that having a second option is necessary?

Absolutely.

Bill Nelson is NASA's administrator.

What if we had only selected Boeing? We would still be on the ground. We would still be relying on the Russians. I think the proof's in the pudding.

Nobody will follow this flight more closely than the people training to fly on Starliner's first crewed flight, like veteran NASA astronaut Mike Fincke.

From what we can see and all the testing that we've done on the ground, we think it should go well. Boeing has put a lot of effort and a lot of their heart into this spacecraft, and we're looking forward to watching it and enjoying it with them.

The new and improved Starliner rolled out of Boeing's factory and off to the launch pad. The capsule was hoisted on top of its Atlas V rocket, ready for today's launch-- Boeing's chance to redeem its space reputation. Is there a fair amount of pressure on this for the company to nail this one?

There is a perceptible need to go out and be highly successful. And I think that some of the pressure self-induced, and I think from a company level, they want to see us be very successful as well.

Boeing will spend $400 million repeating this test flight. If today's launch is a go, Starliner will dock to the ISS tomorrow, spend a couple of days there then come back to Earth on Monday. And if all goes well, Boeing could begin flying people by the end of this year. Anthony, a lot riding on this rocket for Boeing.

For 100 million, that's a lot of money, Mark. Thank you.