CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Boeing launched its Starliner spacecraft, designed to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station, on an uncrewed test mission toward the orbiting outpost Thursday evening.

Detailed explanation-2: -In 2014, NASA awarded the CCtCap contracts to Boeing and SpaceX through a public-private partnership as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Detailed explanation-3: -Boeing developed Starliner under a roughly $4.2 billion fixed-price NASA contract awarded in 2014, which includes six operational Starliner missions. NASA has a similar contract with SpaceX, whose rival Crew Dragon capsule has flown six crewed flights for the agency since 2020.

Detailed explanation-4: -5, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission is the fifth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Detailed explanation-5: -NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission, the agency’s first big step toward returning astronauts to the lunar surface, launched to the moon on Nov. 16 on a critical test flight to return astronauts to the moon. It splashed down on Dec. 11.