NASA and Boeing plan to resume Starliner flights to the International Space Station with an uncrewed cargo mission, Starliner-1, in December 2026 or January 2027. A crewed mission, Starliner-2, would follow in 2028. NASA also intends to exercise options for fifth and sixth flights and to certify the Vulcan rocket for crew missions once the Atlas V, which has launched Starliner to date, is retired.
The plan follows a 2025 decision by NASA to reduce Boeing's Starliner order from six missions to four. Starliner-1 was originally expected no earlier than April 2026, but that target has slipped to the end of the year and could slip further.
The only crewed Starliner flight, in 2024, ended with the capsule returning to Earth empty after multiple failures made it too risky for astronauts. Crew members Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remained on the ISS for months before returning on a SpaceX Crew Dragon mission.
Boeing said 19 of the 21 in-flight anomalies recorded during that test have been closed, with the remainder expected to close in October. Changes to the spacecraft include replacing valves on all 12 reaction control thrusters, improving the parachute joint design, and upgrading battery systems.
NASA has recently added three more Crew Dragon missions, and 2028 appears to mark the end of that program, at least for now. NASA says maintaining a US crew transportation capability is essential to winding down the ISS responsibly, transitioning to commercial stations, and expanding commercial activity in orbit. Given the limited time available and the possibility of a post-Crew Dragon environment, the push to make Starliner operational is understandable, though questions about the program's long record of delays and technical problems remain.