NASA and Boeing have presented an update on the Starliner crew spacecraft. The plan: an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station first, astronauts on board again by 2028, two additional flights to the station and a new rocket for crew launches.
The key points
- Starliner-1 uncrewed: the next flight will carry no crew. According to NASA, it could fly in December 2026 or January 2027 as an engineering evaluation mission.
- Starliner-2 with crew: NASA's current plan is to fly astronauts on Starliner-2 by 2028.
- More flights: NASA intends to exercise options for a fifth and a sixth Starliner flight to and from the station.
- New rocket: NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance will work to certify the Vulcan rocket for crew flights after the final flight of the Atlas V.
We are starting with an uncrewed Starliner-1 mission to the International Space Station to validate the improvements made to the spacecraft and gather the flight data we need.Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator
What went wrong and what is being fixed
During its first crewed flight in 2024, Starliner returned to Earth without its crew. In February, NASA published the findings of its Program Investigation Team, which made 61 recommendations. According to NASA, the report identified that the service module's reaction control thrusters operated outside their engineering qualification, which caused a loss of control during the Crew Flight Test. Ground testing showed the thruster problems resulted from a combination of the thermal environment and features of the design.
Boeing has made thermal modifications to the service module, which NASA will evaluate on Starliner-1. After the flight, NASA and Boeing will complete a thruster valve design modification to address poppet seal extrusion. Boeing will also install new crew module thrusters and batteries and make minor changes to the parachute system.
Why it matters
NASA has aimed for two independent US crew vehicles since the start of the Commercial Crew Program. A second certified vehicle besides SpaceX Crew Dragon adds redundancy for the ISS and for the commercial stations planned after it. For more background, see our explainer on how crew and supplies get to the ISS.
Sources
Cover image: Boeing's Starliner docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station, 3 July 2024. Credit: NASA (iss071e265103), public domain.