KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – NASA and Boeing said Monday that Starliner could return to flight as early as December, marking a major step for the spacecraft after a troubled test mission left astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the International Space Station for more than nine months.
The update came during an announcement at Kennedy Space Center, where NASA and Boeing leaders said they have identified the issues from Starliner’s test flight and are working through required fixes before putting astronauts back on board.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said corrective actions have been assigned based on the findings from the post-flight review.
“Corrective actions have been assigned across the recommendations with the work divided between what is required for an uncrewed Starliner 1 mission and what must be completed before it carries our astronauts once again,” Isaacman said.
The next Starliner mission is expected to be uncrewed and would travel to the International Space Station. NASA and Boeing said that flight could happen before the end of the year.A crewed Starliner mission is now planned for 2028. NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg is expected to command that flight.
“We’re putting the program on a path to correct the key technical deficiencies and return to crewed flight as soon as we’re ready,” Hoburg said.
John Mulholland, Boeing’s Commercial Crew vice president and program manager, said NASA has already approved about 90% of Starliner’s human spaceflight certification requirements.
“We are in great shape for Starliner 1 and the certification ahead of the Starliner 2 mission in 2028,” Mulholland said.
NASA and Boeing said safety remains the priority as the program moves toward its next test flight.
Monday’s Starliner announcement comes ahead of NASA’s Crew-13 launch, which is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. Thursday.
