NASA moves Starliner crew return to 2028 after uncrewed test

NASA sets a new Starliner schedule

NASA said on 28 September that Starliner will fly without astronauts [1][4][6]. The uncrewed Starliner-1 is targeted for no earlier than December 2026, and a crewed Starliner-2 is set for 2028 [1][4][6].

That leaves NASA without a second proven American crew vehicle for at least two more years [3][10]. SpaceX's Crew Dragon is the only operational US spacecraft flying astronauts to the station today [3][10]. If Starliner-1 runs into trouble, the agency has nothing to fall back on. No exact launch date has been set [1][9].

The schedule was laid out at a press conference on Monday afternoon and confirmed in a NASA statement [6][11]. Starliner-1 could launch in December 2026 or January 2027 [1][9][10]. Astronauts would follow on Starliner-2 by 2028, and NASA named veteran astronaut Woody Hoburg as commander of that flight [1][3][11]. The agency also said it will exercise options for two more crewed Starliner missions, taking its total to six [1][6][11]. That reverses an earlier cut. NASA had reduced Starliner's mission count from six to four about a year before, after the 2024 test flight went wrong [10].

Isaacman said NASA will use the uncrewed flight to gather data [1]. NASA will keep working through the remaining recommendations from the investigation report, then plan for crew [1].

Why NASA is not putting crew on the next flight

Starliner-1 is an engineering evaluation, not a cargo run with a bonus. Flight controllers plan to test the propulsion system under controlled conditions and measure thruster performance and heat around the spacecraft [3][4][9]. Some fixes cannot be fully validated on the ground, so the flight itself is the test [3].

The caution traces back to a classification. NASA declared the 2024 crew flight test a Type A mishap, its most serious category, and the investigation produced 61 recommendations [2][3][6][10]. No one was injured, but investigators said the mission carried the potential for a serious accident [2][3]. Boeing has made thermal changes to the service module and is redesigning valve components linked to seal extrusion [3]. All 12 crew-module thruster valves are being replaced, and Boeing plans upgraded batteries and parachute changes [3][9].

Boeing's commercial crew program manager said the company had implemented corrective actions [1]. The actions covered the technical and cultural issues identified in the report [1].

NASA associate administrator Amit Kshatriya put it more bluntly [2]. "We almost did have a really terrible day," he said [2].

The $359 million and the Atlas V problem

NASA will pay Boeing $359 million to help get Starliner flying again [1][6][11]. Dana Weigel, who runs NASA's low Earth orbit program, said the money covers spacecraft upgrades including the thrusters [1][6][11]. It also pays to certify United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket for crew [1][6][11].

NASA has paid Boeing $5.1 billion under the Commercial Crew contract [6][11]. The contract is fixed-price [6][11]. Starliner has cost Boeing more than $2 billion in losses, Ars Technica reported [6][11].

The rocket is a separate headache. Six Atlas V vehicles remain after the rocket stopped production in 2021, and NASA now wants Vulcan certified to carry astronauts [1]. Vulcan is grounded while engineers from United Launch Alliance, Northrop Grumman and NASA work through problems with Northrop's GRM-63XL solid rocket boosters [1]. It is expected to return to flight late in 2026 or early in 2027 [1]. The agreed price for Starliner-2 through Starliner-6 is about $90 million a seat, according to Ars Technica [6].

Boeing has talked to the private station companies about flying their crews [6]. It cannot quote prices yet because neither Vulcan nor Starliner is certified, the company said [6].

What went wrong in 2024

Starliner's first crewed flight launched on 5 June 2024 [3][4][10]. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were aboard [3][4][10]. Five service-module thrusters failed as the capsule approached the station, and helium leaks developed [3][4]. Starliner regained control and docked, but NASA decided the spacecraft was not safe enough to bring the crew home [3][4][10].

Starliner came back empty in September 2024 [3][4][10]. It returned without the crew it launched with [3][4][10].

Wilmore and Williams stayed on the station until March 2025. They returned on a SpaceX Crew Dragon after 286 days in orbit, against a planned 8 to 14 [3][4][10].

NASA's February 2026 report found a mix of failures [2][10]. It cited hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps and cultural breakdowns [2][10]. Administrator Jared Isaacman said at the time that the most troubling failure was "decision-making and leadership" rather than hardware [7].

What happens next

After Starliner-1, NASA and Boeing will redesign the service module's thruster valves [6]. Boeing will fit new crew-module thrusters and batteries [6]. A crewed Starliner-2 depends on the uncrewed flight and on Boeing finishing its remaining certification work [3]. NASA says Starliner-2 could fly in mid-2028 [4][11].

There is precedent for slippage. A NASA inspector general's audit in July said Starliner might not be certified for operational flights until 2027, a decade behind its original target of 2017 [8].

The pressure behind the schedule is Crew Dragon's retirement. SpaceX intends to sunset Crew Dragon by 2030 as it concentrates on Starship, Isaacman said [4]. NASA has long wanted two independent providers so one spacecraft can back up the other [3]. Isaacman also said NASA will need two astronaut seats to low Earth orbit every six to nine months for the commercial stations planned to follow the ISS [6]. Whether Starliner fills that role is now a question for a flight in December or January, and for a certification review that has slipped before [1][9][8].