In the last few days, Boeing’s Starliner program has once again been at the center of headlines, highlighting ongoing difficulties and deep uncertainty about its future in human spaceflight. NASA and Boeing are now working to reset expectations for the troubled capsule after a harrowing episode last year left two astronauts stranded in orbit for nine months. According to NASA statements cited by Tech Map, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally meant to spend just one week aboard the International Space Station after launching on Starliner in June of last year. Instead, a combination of five thruster failures, a failed propellant valve, and persistent helium leaks resulted in an extended stay in space and ultimately forced NASA to declare the capsule unsafe for crew return. The two astronauts finally returned to Earth last fall via a separate vehicle, underscoring serious reliability problems in Starliner’s design and operations.
SpacePolicyOnline.com adds that NASA, now faced with both public pressure and recent internal reviews, is "leaning towards putting only cargo, not crew, on the next launch of Boeing's Starliner to the ISS." Space policy insiders report that as teams work to address the technical causes behind the thruster and helium systems’ persistent failures, NASA is "aiming to launch the flight early next year." There is a “strong chance” the upcoming mission will be uncrewed, following a strategy similar to SpaceX’s early transition to cargo missions while correcting faults before flying people again. NASA officials say their priority is to “validate fixes being tested for helium leaks and thermal problems tied to the thrusters and their ‘doghouse’ enclosures,” a process that could extend deep into 2026, as described by Opentools.ai.
Boeing is still the prime contractor on key ISS programs, with Supercar Blondie noting that, in addition to working on Starliner, the company is responsible for making sure the station itself remains operational for another five years—especially as Russia is scheduled to withdraw from the ISS program at the end of 2025. Meanwhile, budget uncertainty clouds all of NASA’s human spaceflight plans. SpacePolicyOnline.com notes that recent Congressional actions will require major budget and workforce cuts at NASA, forcing a restructuring on a scale not seen since the end of Apollo.
Despite recent Starliner setbacks, the broader U.S. spaceflight ecosystem continues to move forward. NASA Spaceflight reports that the next Crew Dragon mission to the ISS is scheduled to launch at the end of this month, underscoring the degree to which SpaceX has become a reliable pillar of U.S. crew transport. NASA astronauts scheduled to fly on Crew-11 reflected on the Starliner ordeal, emphasizing that commercial partnerships are essential, but reliability and safety must come first. One astronaut, Zena Cardman, was even delayed from her original mission assignment due to the decision to repatriate Wilmore and Williams after the Starliner crisis.
The ongoing Starliner saga has reignited debate about commercial crew programs and the need for redundancy in human spaceflight capability. As Boeing and NASA now focus on an uncrewed, cargo-only Starliner flight—possibly not until next year—industry experts agree that any crewed flights using Starliner are unlikely before late 2026. Boeing’s challenges, coupled with the impending changes to the ISS program and U.S. space budgets, mark a period of major transition for America’s space leadership.
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