A Boeing spacecraft blasted into orbit Thursday evening and began racing toward the International Space Station in what appeared to be a smooth start to an important mission for the company.
After months of delays, the Starliner spacecraft launched toward orbit shortly before 7 p.m. Eastern time Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida without crew members on board, according to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration live stream. The vehicle is expected to fly to the space station and dock there Friday, before it returns to Earth several days later.
