Investor's Business Daily by GILLIAN RICH 8/2/2018
SpaceX is primed to be the first company in history to send astronauts into space on a commercial launch, likely beating Boeing (BA) to that milestone as they ready their competing "space taxis" for NASA.
SpaceX expects to launch its first uncrewed mission of the Crew Dragon capsule in November and its first crewed mission in April 2019, when two astronauts will travel to the International Space Station, according to a NASA statement Thursday.
Meanwhile, Boeing now sees its first uncrewed flight test of its CST-100 Starliner capsule late this year or early next year, with the first crewed mission happening in "mid-2019" at the earliest.
Boeing had earlier warned that the crewed test could be pushed back to 2019, and the Washington Post reported last month that Boeing discovered a fuel leak on the Starliner that could result in a delay.
But while SpaceX appears to be in a position — for now — to claim bragging rights, the flight schedules have already been subject to delays, and more are possible.
SpaceX initially had estimated an April uncrewed launch, then pushed it back to August. The first crewed mission previously was seen in August, then delayed to December. Boeing's first unmanned test previously was due in August, and a crewed test was scheduled for November.
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