Boeing counts down again to its first astronaut launch on a long-delayed test flight for NASA

Boeing is taking another crack at launching astronauts for the first time aboard its new space capsule, after a delay for leak checks and rocket repairs. The Starliner capsule is due to fly from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday with a pair of test pilots to the International Space Station for a weeklong stay. The test drive should have happened years ago. But problems kept piling up, most recently a leak that went unnoticed until the first launch attempt with a crew in early May. NASA wants a backup to SpaceX, which has been flying astronauts for four years. Boeing is taking another crack at launching astronauts for the first time aboard its new space capsule, after a delay for leak checks and rocket repairs. The Starliner capsule is due to fly from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday with a pair of test pilots to the International Space Station for a weeklong stay. The test drive should have happened years ago. But problems kept piling up, most recently a leak that went unnoticed until the first launch attempt with a crew in early May. NASA wants a backup to SpaceX, which has been flying astronauts for four years.  AP Technology and Science