NASA backs Boeing Starliner return, delays crew flights to 2028

NASA is adding money and technical support to Boeing’s Starliner program as the agency targets an uncrewed cargo flight to the International Space Station by December, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. Astronauts are not expected to fly on Starliner again until 2028 while safety redesigns continue.

The decision keeps Boeing in NASA’s plan for two U.S.-based astronaut transportation systems, even after a 2024 Starliner mission was reclassified as a crew-endangering Type A mishap. ABC7 Los Angeles reported the extra work will cost NASA $359 million.

NASA will pay for additional Starliner upgrades and new rocket certifications before astronauts are allowed back on the Boeing capsule, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The work includes fixes such as new valves and seals after Starliner’s problems during a 2024 mission.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Boeing should be ready to send an improved Starliner to the International Space Station with cargo but no crew by December, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. “We always were committed to seeing this through with Boeing,” Isaacman said.

The agency’s review has pushed the next crewed Starliner flight to 2028, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. NASA had paid Boeing and SpaceX billions of dollars for astronaut ferry service after the space shuttles retired, with SpaceX becoming the first private company to send astronauts to orbit in 2020.

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg will command the next Starliner flight, ABC7 Los Angeles reported. “Bottom line: We’re on the right path,” Hoburg said.

The original Starliner test pilots, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are now retired, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. They returned with SpaceX after nine months following their Starliner flight.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch its 14th crew for NASA later this week, while the International Space Station is due to be abandoned and deorbited by 2031, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.