SpaceX reached another milestone when booster B1062 became the first in its fleet to fly for the 21st time on Friday night, exceeding the previously set limit of 20 flights per booster.
Blue Origin also launched its first crewed mission for over 18 months on Sunday, taking six more humans briefly above the Karman line. The crew included former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who is about a week older than William Shatner, and became the oldest person to fly in space.
As the week began, all eyes were on the forthcoming maiden crewed flight test (CFT) of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for the second week. The first attempt was stood down last Monday following concerns with a liquid oxygen relief valve on the Centaur second stage. The launch was due to be reattempted this Friday but has since been delayed further during the week with a new target date of May 25, to address a stable helium leak on the Starliner service module. It will be the 100th overall mission for the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket, and the first time the vehicle has carried crew. This CFT mission will also be the first crewed launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station since the Apollo era.