The first manned flight of the Boeing Starliner space capsule is scheduled for February 2023, the company and NASA announced Thursday as they aim to create a second transportation provider to the ISS (International Space Station) for your astronauts.

Since 2020, astronauts have been flying to the ISS aboard SpaceX capsules, but NASA wants to diversify its capabilities.

The company finally managed to get to the station without a crew in May — Photo: Stocktrek Images/Boeing/ND

After some setbacks in the Boeing program, notably a failed flight in 2019, the company finally managed to make it to the station in May without a crew.

Now, the airline company is set to make a second flight, this time manned, so that the capsule gets NASA approval and can launch regular missions every year.

“We’ve scheduled the launch date for February 2023,” Steve Stich, head of NASA’s manned commercial program, said Thursday.

The test flight, called CFT, will feature two agency astronauts, Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams.

The crew is expected to spend about eight days on the ISS, where they will take part in research activities in the laboratory, explained Joel Montalbano, program director of the station.

Boeing had hoped to fly in 2022, but some problems during testing revealed some adjustments were needed.