NASA disclosed a comprehensive plan to return Boeing’s Starliner capsule to regular service after the agency’s 2024 test flight was deemed a “disaster in league with Columbia and Challenger.” The agency said the next Starliner flight will be uncrewed and cannot launch before December, and that a crewed mission could occur as early as mid‑2028 if the test succeeds.
Schedule and technical upgrades
Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that before any crewed operations resume, several thrusters will undergo a design modification. The agency also highlighted the need for a new launch vehicle because the Atlas rockets that previously lifted Starliner are slated for retirement. NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance are now working to certify the Vulcan Centaur rocket for crewed missions, a step that will replace Atlas in future Starliner flights.
The agency expects to allocate an additional $359 million to cover the thruster redesign and the certification of Vulcan Centaur for human spaceflight. This funding is separate from the existing contract values for both Boeing and SpaceX.
Funding landscape and competition
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon remains the sole operational U.S. vehicle for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA recently extended its partnership with SpaceX by purchasing three additional missions for $946 million, even as SpaceX signals a shift toward its Starship system and plans to retire Dragon in the 2030s.
Isaacman emphasized that, given the extensive investment in Starliner, the capsule offers “the fastest path to preserving reliable crewed access to low Earth orbit.” SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell previously noted that Dragon will be discontinued in the 2030s, but she also remarked that Boeing has received more funding than SpaceX for capsule development.
Under current contracts, SpaceX has been awarded $5.92 billion for a demonstration mission and 17 operational flights, while Boeing’s contract totals $4.82 billion for a mandatory four‑flight commitment. The newly announced $359 million for Starliner upgrades could be supplemented by up to two additional flights, according to NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program manager Dana Weigel.
Lessons from the 2024 test flight
The 2024 Boeing Crew Flight Test, which carried astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, encountered helium leaks and thruster outages shortly after reaching orbit. The problems forced the crew to remain on the ISS for more than nine months, returning home aboard a SpaceX capsule rather than the planned Starliner return.
At the briefing, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg was named commander of the next crewed Starliner mission. Hoburg praised Williams and Wilmore for their professionalism and said the ordeal highlighted “inadequate systems engineering and integration” that allowed unqualified hardware to reach the launch pad.
Isaacman also re‑classified the 2024 flight as a “Type A mishap,” a designation used for incidents causing over $2 million in damage, loss of vehicle control, or loss of life. The Columbia and Challenger disasters share the same classification.
NASA’s updated roadmap seeks to address the underlying engineering gaps, secure a new launch vehicle, and fund critical upgrades, with the goal of restoring confidence in Starliner as a viable partner for ISS crew rotations as the station approaches its planned de‑commissioning in the early 2030s.
Helene Elliott is the Lead Science & Space Reporter at News Raise. She reports on aerospace missions, astrophysics discoveries, quantum research, and environmental technology.
