At first glance, Boeing’s Starliner looks much like the command module used during NASA’s Apollo moon missions in the 1960s and 1970s.
That’s not a random coincidence. The ability of that cone-shaped vehicle to keep astronauts safe during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere has been well documented.
At 15 feet in diameter, Starliner is slightly bigger than the Apollo spacecraft. The capsule and the service module — the part of the spacecraft that provides power and propulsion during the flight before being discarded just before landing — are together 16.5 feet in height.
The spacecraft is large enough to carry up to seven astronauts, but NASA missions will carry a crew of four. Boeing has the option of selling a fifth seat to a private customer looking to tag along.
Each Starliner is designed to be used for up to 10 missions; by contrast, a service module burns up in the atmosphere, and a new one is needed for each trip.
Boeing has built three Starliner capsules. The first was used only to demonstrate the ability to quickly fly astronauts to safety in case of an emergency on the launchpad. That capsule will not be used for any missions to orbit.
The Starliner used for this mission previously flew in space in 2020 during the first uncrewed test flight, which was cut short because of technical problems. Sunita Williams, the pilot for this mission, has named the spacecraft Calypso, a nod to the research ship used by Jacques Cousteau, a French undersea explorer.
The third Starliner, still unnamed, was used for the second uncrewed test in 2022 and will fly four astronauts to the space station for the first operational mission, scheduled for next year.
