Boeing's Calamity Capsule gets another shot at the ISS taxi business
NASA and Boeing have announced plans for the Starliner-1 mission to launch in late 2026 or early 2027, with a crewed flight following in 2028. This follows a series of technical failures that have delayed the program and forced NASA to rely on SpaceX for ISS transportation.
Why it matters
The future of Boeing's space program is critical for maintaining redundant crew transportation capabilities to the ISS and future commercial space stations.
Starliner-1 could fly by January, with astronauts to follow by 2028 if all goes well
SpaceX might not be the ISS's only ride after NASA and Boeing claimed that Starliner - aka the aerospace giant's Calamity Capsule - will fly again and carry a crew in 2028.
The plan is to launch an uncrewed vehicle, the Starliner-1, in the December 2026 / January 2027 timeframe, and a crewed vehicle, Starliner-2, sometime in 2028. Starliner-1 will ferry cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and, if all goes well, humans will take their turn on Starliner-2.
NASA also intends to exercise options for a fifth and sixth flight to and from the ISS and to get the Vulcan rocket certified for use after the Atlas V, which has launched Starliner to date, is finally phased out.
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