[logdap]

Crazy it's taken them this long and they're still having problems. If it weren't for SpaceX, the whole western world would be out of manned spaceflight right now. The Russians and Chinese can fly humans, but NASA is Congressionally forbidden from dealing with China, and since 2022 dealing with Russia is off the table too. That leaves SpaceX, and this notoriously dysfunctional Starliner program.

Get your act together, Boeing.

[wongarsu]

Paying for two competing providers really payed off for NASA. If they had only gone with the safe choice (which in 2011 definitely seemed to be Boeing) the West would be forced to soften their stance to either China or Russia, or be locked out of the ISS.