Two major events happened during the first week of June that could help boost the overall space sector in the future.
Here's a look at the events and what's next.
Boeing Launches Starliner: The space division of Boeing Co. BA successfully launched the Starliner spacecraft with astronauts on board earlier in the week.
The launch came after several delays and setbacks and saw NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams dock and enter the International Space Station.
The mission marks a test flight to demonstrate the capability of Boeing's Starliner to transport crew members to and from low-Earth orbit.
This marked the first time Boeing completed a crewed flight to the International Space Station, something that competitor SpaceX has completed several times over the last four years.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wished Boeing "best of luck" in a tweet ahead of the launch.
The Starliner partnership for crewed missions with NASA was part of a commercial crew program awarded in 2014. Boeing's initial contract was good for $4.82 billion, with SpaceX also getting $3.14 billion under the same NASA partnership to take crews to the International Space Station.
Related Link: Boeing Heads To Space: Could NASA Deal, Starliner Help Fend Off Airplane Segment Weakness?
SpaceX Fourth Flight Test: The other highlight for the space sector during the week was a fourth flight test of SpaceX's Starship.
The flight made a soft landing in the Indian Ocean and successfully completed its re-entry and splash down mission.
"Starship's fourth flight test launched with ambitious goals, attempting to go farther than any previous test before and begin demonstrating capabilities central to return and reuse of Starship and Super Heavy. The payload for this test was the data. Starship delivered," SpaceX said.
SpaceX said the fourth Starship flight helped make strides to "bring us closer to a rapidly reusable future."
"Today was a great day for humanity's future as a spacefaring civilization! Nothing unites us more than working together towards inspiring objectives," Musk tweeted.
The flight tests prove pivotal to SpaceX and the space sector as they could lead to future missions to take astronauts to the Moon and help launch to Mars.
Read Next: Elon Musk Outlines Future Starship Goals After Successful Fourth Flight Test
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