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Boeing 'incredibly excited' to serve as nation's only astronaut transportation
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NASA announced Monday that it will exercise options for two more Boeing Starliner crew missions and pay Boeing $359 million to help return the spacecraft to flight. The move aims to preserve U.S. access to low Earth orbit as SpaceX prepares to retire older Crew Dragon and Falcon platforms while focusing on Starship.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said SpaceX’s transition was not secret, noting that older systems will give way to Starship. Dragon has flown NASA astronauts for more than six years, while Boeing has struggled to bring Starliner into service.
Starliner encountered serious problems on uncrewed tests in 2019 and 2022. Thruster issues nearly caused the catastrophic loss of two astronauts on its first crew test in June 2024, raising doubts about the program’s viability.
Boeing has lost more than $2 billion on Starliner, while NASA has paid $5.1 billion through the fixed-price Commercial Crew program. New funding will rebuild overheated reaction-control thrusters and certify United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket for human missions after Atlas V retires.
The purchase takes NASA’s contracted Starliner flights to six: one uncrewed demonstration and five crewed missions. Starliner-1 could launch in December 2026 or January 2027, and the first crewed flight, Starliner-2, could follow in mid-2028. Veteran astronaut Woody Hoburg will command that mission.
By supporting Starliner before Crew Dragon retires, NASA seeks to prevent a transportation gap and retain an alternative crew system. The decision also shows how much more investment the troubled program may require to become operational.
Low Earth Orbit Program manager Dana Weigel said the payment would fund hardware and safety work. Milestones include the uncrewed demonstration, Vulcan certification and, if successful, the 2028 crew flight. Meeting them will determine whether Starliner bridges NASA’s transition to newer commercial systems.
