Part 4/10:
The Boeing Starliner, a partially reusable crew capsule, began its journey in 2010 as a key part of NASA's Commercial Crew Initiative. The goal was to establish an effective transport system for crew and supplies to the ISS, given the retirement of the space shuttle fleet. Designed for autonomous operation with manual controls as a backup, the Starliner set forth with high expectations.
Initial funding allowed Boeing to start transforming the ambitious concept into a functional prototype; however, the timeline for operational capability kept slipping, forcing many to question Boeing’s reliability under a fixed-price contract.