Live updates: Boeing and NASA scrub launch of Starliner spacecraft

Make no mistake: Today’s launch is a massive deal for Boeing.

The company’s airplane woes are one thing, but Starliner has had its own issues.

The spacecraft was developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which got rolling in 2014.

That’s when the space agency awarded Boeing and SpaceX contracts to develop spacecraft capable of getting astronauts to the International Space Station, taking the baton from the retired Space Shuttle Program. (Boeing got $4.2 billion, while SpaceX got $2.6 billion.)

Boeing — a close partner of NASA’s practically dating back the agency’s inception — was expected to lead the charge.

But SpaceX emerged as the forerunner, finishing its Dragon development in 2020.

Boeing, however, has faced all sorts of setbacks: A botched test flight in 2019, myriad delays and development hang-ups, and embarrassing missteps. At certain points, some have even questioned whether Boeing would continue Starliner development at all.

For its part, Boeing has always publicly maintained that it was committed to Starliner and the company’s deal with NASA.

And now that a Starliner is sitting on the launchpad ready to carry two astronauts into the unforgiving void of outer space — it’s clear Boeing meant it.

At a recent news conference, Mark Nappi, vice president and Starliner program manager at Boeing, reflected on the spacecraft’s journey: