NASA reveals new plan for Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft
NASA has announced a new roadmap for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which includes uncrewed test flights and necessary design modifications to thrusters. The agency plans to transition to Vulcan Centaur rockets for future crewed missions as it continues to rely on SpaceX for current International Space Station transport.
Why it matters
The future of US human spaceflight depends on diversifying launch providers beyond SpaceX to ensure consistent access to the International Space Station.
Months after NASA’s leadership issued a scathing indictment of Boeing’s Starliner capsule — saying the botched 2024 test flight that left two astronauts in space months longer than expected was a disaster in league with Columbia and Challenger — the space agency has revealed a new road map to get Starliner on track for regular flights. The agency has indicated for some time that Starliner’s next flight would be uncrewed, and NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said Monday that the mission will take place no earlier than December. If that goes well, the earliest Starliner could fly its next crew mission is mid-2028, officials said. “Before crewed operations resume,” Isaacman said, some thrusters require “a design modification.” Starliner will also need a new ride to orbit, as the Atlas rockets that have carried it to space in the past are soon retiring.
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