NASA's Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry as companies develop and operate a new generation of spacecraft and launch systems capable of carrying crews to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station. Commercial transportation to and from the station will provide expanded utility, additional research time and broader opportunities for discovery on the orbiting laboratory. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight. As commercial companies focus on providing human transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit, NASA is freed up to focus on building spacecraft and rockets for deep space missions.

The first launch of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station will be an uncrewed test flight. Even without a crew, Starliner will attempt to dock to the station to prove out its autonomous mission capability. The other mission objectives are intended to demonstrate all of Starliner's systems and capabilities, except for those requiring a human onboard to test. Boeing's CST-100 Starliner is a 21st century human space transportation platform optimized for missions to low Earth orbit. In its design, Boeing leveraged decades of heritage in human spaceflight as well as incorporated new technologies to make a safe and reliable vehicle. Starliner's two main pieces are the crew module and service module, and the crew module is intended to be reused on 10 missions.