Live coverage: SpaceX launches its 10th mission of the year

Boeing officials said Wednesday that the company is targeting Dec. 17 for the launch of the first unpiloted orbital test flight of the new Starliner crew capsule from Cape Canaveral on a week-long demonstration mission to the International Space Station, a precursor to a mission with astronauts next year.

More testing will be done on both the thrusters on the spacecraft’s aft section. The Starliner crew will also repeat some previously conducted test activities, like the ‘safe haven’ protocol.

Staying true to a corporate philosophy that favors high-visibility flight tests, SpaceX plans to continue wringing out major parts of the company’s human-rated Dragon spaceship in a sequence of dramatic flights leading up to the capsule’s first crewed mission scheduled for 2017.