Boeing Starliner:
An Atlas V rocket is set to lift off with a team of two veteran astronauts sitting inside a crew capsule called Starliner, built by Boeing.
- Starliner is a spacecraft that transports astronauts into space after being launched there by a rocket.
- It consists of a crew capsule and a service module.
- The crew capsule houses the astronauts; like others of its kind, it will be able to survive reentry and return to the ground.
- The service module consists of the equipment and systems the astronauts need to survive in space, including air and temperature control, water supply, sanitation, etc., plus the engines and fuel required to manoeuvre the spacecraft.
- The service module won’t be reusable.
- Starliner is more than 4 meters wide and can house up to seven astronauts.
- The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time.
- It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces.
- It can be fit atop an Atlas V rocket, operated by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
