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Boeing's Starliner capsule blasts off on space station test flight – again
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Boeing launched its new space taxi on a long-awaited second test flight Thursday evening, hoping for an out-of-this-world boost in the race to catch up with rival SpaceX.The cone-shaped Starliner capsule, poised atop an Atlas V rocket, blasted off from Cape Canaveral just before 7 p.m., cutting a bright trail through the hazy sky. Fifteen minutes later, the capsule was flying on its own in space.No astronauts are aboard for the OFT-2 mission, but if all goes well, NASA could finally have the second crew-capable capsule they’ve wanted for years.When the space shuttles were retired over a decade ago, NASA was forced to rely on Russian capsules to get its astronauts to and from the space station.