Like Dragon, Starliner likely open the hatch cover as soon as it reach orbit since if it is stuck they can as well abort the mission. And possibly, like Dragon IIRC, it covers some thrusters and star positioning sensors that they need at the front of the capsule.

The SpaceX HLS leaked (IIRC) info is of an elevator along the lunar Ship side, and they seem to have tested an early (non-integrated) mockup at Starbase.

I listened to the presentation, and it was glaringly obvious that SpaceX: