NASA has officially launched plans to send Boeing’s Starliner back into space – despite the pod creating an international scandal that stranded astronauts for months.
Following the successful return of astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore Tuesday, the space agency said its committed to using the beleaguered Starliner capsule.
NASA stressed the importance of having two launch systems. SpaceX is the other.
Starliner malfunctioned before and during the mission that took Williams and Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS) in June, forcing NASA to deem it too risky for the return flight. The pair returned inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
It was Boeing’s first Starliner flight carrying people to space, in a more than $4.5 billion project that has been plagued with delays, glitches, and billions of dollars in cost overruns.
Now, NASA said the plan is to conduct a second test flight and, if successful, move Starliner back into the rotation to launch astronauts to the (ISS).
Rudy Ridolfi, a US Air Force veteran and former Space System Commander, is one of several critics who feel NASA could be setting itself up for failure as the space agency doesn’t want another failed Starliner mission.
Even more, Ridolfi questioned whether the aerospace giant will even be able to get back on track.
‘Given Boeing’s delayed history with Starliner schedules, the expectation that they can complete fixes and complete the additional test flight appears unlikely,’ Ridolfi told DailyMail.com.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was plagued by technical issues even before in launched on June 5. NASA ultimately deemed it unsafe to return Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to Earth in the pod
Steve Stich (center) revealed that NASA still plans to try another crewed space mission in the Boeing Starliner, despite its first mission leading to the stranding of two astronauts on the International Space Station
Steve Stich, the manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said: ‘We’re certainly looking at Starliner very carefully.’
‘Butch and Suni’s return on Dragon, to me, shows how important it is to have two different crew transportation systems,’ Stich added at Tuesday’s press conference.
However, NASA admitted that Starliner will essentially have to go back to square one and prove it can safely carry astronauts all over again.
On Tuesday, Stich said Starliner would have to gain back its certification for the Commercial Crew Program.
The program has been sending American astronauts into space from rockets launching on US soil, something that hadn’t happened since NASA retired the space shuttle program in 2011.
Until Boeing’s June 2024 launch of Crew-9, SpaceX had handled the prior eight crewed missions to the ISS. The first launched in 2020.
However, by the time Starliner reached the ISS, five of its 28 reaction control system thrusters had failed.
As a result, the capsule’s first attempt to dock to the space station was waived off.
Ultimately, the spacecraft successfully docked and Williams and Wilmore safely boarded the ISS.
Starliner also suffered helium leaks that drove NASA to send the ship home without the astronauts in September 2024 – avoiding a potential catastrophe.
According to NASA officials on Tuesday, they and Boeing have made upgrades to the spacecraft’s propulsion system to ensure the thrusters function properly in future launches.
Starliner will have to successfully complete an uncrewed mission before NASA says it will be allowed to take astronauts into space again
Starliner will first have a test flight without a crew aboard before the vehicle is used again to deliver astronauts to the ISS.
Stich added NASA also needs to make sure the craft can safely dock with the ISS in the future – without developing the same helium leaks the capsule had in June after making contact with the station.
‘I think that is what is driving the second test flight requirement. NASA does not want to be in a position where they have to make a decision to not return a crew with the Boeing Starliner again,’ Ridolfi said.
To this point, NASA has already spent billions on Boeing’s Starliner project and the new setbacks will likely drive up costs even further.
In 2014, NASA initially awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion grant as part of the Commercial Crew Program.
That was supposed to cover the development, testing, and certification of the Starliner spacecraft, as well as its initial crewed missions to the ISS.
Sunita Williams gives a thumbs-up after emerging from the capsule. Following their initial checks, the astronauts will be taken to their crew quarters at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for several more days of routine health checks
After splashing down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida the pair were helped onto stretchers by NASA’s medical crew. This is standard practice for astronauts whose muscles have been weakened by their time in microgravity
However, NASA’s Office of Inspector General revealed in 2019 that the space agency quietly doled out an additional $287.2 million to Boeing in 2016 to shorten the production time for Starliner.
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Despite the additional payout, Starliner did not get off the launch pad with an actual crew until 2024.
Due to the setbacks, Boeing has also reportedly suffered some significant cost overruns beyond NASA’s contract – which the company pays for out of their own pocket.
The company has dished out at least $5 billion more to fund Starliner.
According to Ars Technica, the company’s total losses on Starliner reached $1.85 billion as of October 2024.
Previously, NASA’s Office of the Inspector General has called for ‘financial penalties’ over the Starliner debacle, which it attributed to Boeing’s ‘noncompliance with quality control.’
Asked if NASA was worried that Boeing may eventually quit the Commercial Crew Program, Stich said on Tuesday that he’s seen ‘a commitment’ from the aerospace giant to continuing their work on fixing Starliner.
As for who would pay for an uncrewed test mission of Starliner, Stich said NASA is looking to make it part of the ‘post-certification’ phase of the existing multi-billion-dollar contract.
Ridolfi added that the news on Friday that Boeing had been awarded a new contract to build the US military’s next generation of jet fighters could actually compound the problems with Boeing’s budget even further.
“I’d expect them to negotiate a contract change for the additional test flight,” the Air Force veteran explained.
A full timeline of Boeing’s Starliner program, from the singing of their massive contact to the incident that left two astronauts stranded aboard the ISS
Right now, NASA plans to launch Crew-11 in mid-July 2025. Those astronauts will relieve Crew-10, who arrived in March to replace Williams, Wilmore, and two other astronauts.
Currently, NASA said they have five SpaceX Dragon capsule available for that mission.
Stich and other officials did not make any commitments to using Starliner for the Crew-12 mission, in late 2025 or early 2026.
However, Stich was still hopeful that NASA would have both SpaceX and Boeing capsules available to them and even said Starliner could one day end up rescuing astronauts if there was ever a problem with a SpaceX Dragon capsule.