Boeing's Starliner Faces Delays Amid Ongoing Issues
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft has been plagued by issues since its first crewed flight in June 2024. The mission was expected to last eight days, but it was cut short due to helium leaks and thruster failures during the trip to the International Space Station.
NASA returned the capsule to Earth without its crew in September 2024, leaving astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the station. They eventually returned aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon in March 2025 after spending over nine months in orbit.
The incident was classified as a Type A mishap by NASA, which is the agency's most serious mishap category. This classification applies to events that can endanger a crew or fail to achieve a primary mission objective.
A NASA inspector general audit found that unexpected testing problems since 2020 added about six years of delays to the Starliner program. The audit also stated that helium leaks and propulsion failures remained unresolved, and NASA could not say when the spacecraft would receive human-rating certification.