NASA and Boeing Plan Resumption of Troubled Starliner Test Flights

NASA and Boeing are moving forward with plans to resume test flights of the Starliner spacecraft, which was involved in a troubled mission in 2024 that left two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station (ISS).

The Starliner capsule, developed by Boeing, was supposed to carry NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS for an eight-day stay. However, a series of failures related to ice leaks and thrusters led NASA to decide that they would not return in it for safety reasons.

The two crew members were stranded for 286 days until March 2025 when it became feasible for them to return in another spacecraft, SpaceX's Crew Dragon. Despite the setback, Williams and Wilmore insisted that such incidents are part of their job and expressed no concern about their situation.

After nearly two years, NASA and Boeing claim to be ready to resume test flights and have the Starliner join the Crew Dragon as a space taxi to transport astronauts to the ISS. The goal is to conduct an unmanned test flight next December or in January 2027, followed by a manned test mission in 2028.

NASA director Jared Isaacman stated that the agency has worked closely with Boeing to address issues identified in previous Starliner flights and intends for this vehicle to fly again to support operations at the ISS and future commercial space stations. He added that they plan to use the Vulcan rocket for transporting astronauts to low Earth orbit, replacing the Atlas V rocket when it completes its final flight.