NASA ramps up support to get Boeing’s astronaut capsule flying after Butch and Suni fiasco
NASA is funding hardware and software fixes after Starliner’s 2024 flight left two astronauts in orbit for 286 days, officials said.
- On Monday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that Boeing will launch an uncrewed Starliner test flight to the International Space Station in December, with crewed missions delayed until 2028 pending safety redesigns.
- NASA reclassified the 2024 test flight that stranded two astronauts for months as a 'Type A mishap,' the agency's most severe ranking for incidents resulting in significant damage or vehicle loss of control.
- The space agency is investing an additional $359 million for Starliner upgrades and Vulcan certification. Boeing has implemented fixes on the spacecraft after identifying the cause of helium leaks and thruster failures.
- SpaceX remains the sole operational provider for crewed missions, with NASA purchasing three additional flights for $946 million earlier this month. NASA is certifying United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rockets as a replacement for the retiring Atlas fleet.
- NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg will command the next crewed Starliner mission. SpaceX intends to phase out its Crew Dragon capsule for the larger Starship in coming years, underscoring NASA's need for redundant U.S.-based crew transportation.
79 Articles
79 Articles
NASA Classifies Boeing Starliner Failures as ‘Type A’ Mishap, Stranding Astronauts on ISS for Six Months
NASA has classified Boeing’s Starliner propulsion failures as a “Type A” mishap, its most serious designation, triggering an independent investigation like those after Challenger and Columbia. The decision leaves astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams stranded on the ISS for six months awaiting a SpaceX return flight. The troubles underscore Boeing’s deepening technical and reputational crisis.
NASA has begun preparations to use Boeing's Starliner spacecraft again for crewed missions. The first test flight will take place without astronauts before December 2026. This will test the Starliner's modified thrusters and other systems. If the test is successful, astronauts are planned to be sent to the International Space Station in 2028. This mission will be commanded by NASA's Woody Hoberg.
Boeing to launch Starliner again after thruster failure stranded Sunita Williams
Nasa and Boeing will send Starliner-1 on an uncrewed ISS mission to test spacecraft fixes. The flight is meant to clear the way for astronauts to return after the thruster failure that left Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in orbit for months.
NASA, Boeing Could Return Starliner to Space by End of 2026
NASA and Boeing leaders announced that the Starliner spacecraft built to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station could fly by the end of the year. Persistent technical mid-flight failures, particularly with its thrusters, climaxed in 2024, when two astronauts lost significant control of the spacecraft on their way to the International Space Station, resulting in them staying aboard the orbital outpost for nearly 10 months. …
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