The Revolution Blog

New Boeing Starliner Clears America’s Path Back to the Stars

Sunday, Sep 27, 2015

Since powering down the Space Shuttle program in 2011, NASA has relied on Russia to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. Boeing’s new Apollo-like spacecraft will put an end to the galaxy’s most expensive hitchhike – more than $80 million per seat.

Originally dubbed the CST-100, the Starliner (a nod to the aerospace giant’s Dreamliner jet) is loaded with new gadgets, modern design touches, and the kinds of innovation you’d expect from a NASA and Boeing collaboration.

Touchscreens replace a seemingly endless array of levers and switches, and reduce the dependence on manual control. Blue LED “Sky Lighting” puts crew at ease. And a spun-formed outer shell eliminates welding-related structural risks.

The next generation space capsule even has wireless Internet, so you can tweet from low-Earth orbit. And when we say “you,” we mean it.

While the Starliner will primarily shuttle astronauts, it’s one of two spacecraft contracted under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program for private and government use. The other? SpaceX Dragon.

Starliner is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center in 2017. Learn more on Vox.

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