Starliner is working on its redemption arc.
After making headlines for a troubled crew flight test that ended last year, as well as two uncrewed flight tests in 2019 and 2022 that did not meet expectations, the Boeing capsule is trying to shed its negative reputation.
Starliner-1 will switch from flying astronauts to instead deliver cargo to the ISS—and do “in-flight validation” of new Starliner changes—no earlier than April, NASA announced on Monday.
Scale back: Boeing and NASA also announced that they have updated the prime’s commercial crew contract, which was originally awarded in 2014 and included six crewed flights to the ISS. The updated contract will see Boeing fly four guaranteed missions to the space station—the cargo resupply mission and three crewed flights (assuming the uncrewed mission goes well).
NASA will have the option to add two more flights to the manifest.
“This modification allows NASA and Boeing to focus on safely certifying the system in 2026, execute Starliner’s first crew rotation when ready, and align our ongoing flight planning for future Starliner missions based on station’s operational needs through 2030,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program, said in a statement.
How we got here: Starliner launched on its first crewed mission to the ISS in June 2024, but problems on the trip led NASA to determine it wasn’t safe to send astronauts home onboard. Starliner returned to Earth without crew in September 2024.
Following some crew shuffling, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore—the two NASA astronauts who had flown Starliner to the ISS—flew back to Earth in March 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
