Boeing successfully launches astronaut capsule from Cape Canaveral

[December 20, 2019]    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Boeing Co successfully launched its new astronaut capsule on Friday on an unmanned debut journey to the International Space Station, a milestone test for the U.S. aerospace firm that is vying with SpaceX to revive NASA's human spaceflight capabilities.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, atop an ULA Atlas V rocket, lifts off on an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the International Space Station from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida December 20, 2019. REUTERS/Thom Baur

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, a cone-shaped pod with seven astronaut seats, blasted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral at 6:36 a.m. (1136 GMT) atop an Atlas V rocket from Boeing-Lockheed Martin Corp's United Launch Alliance.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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