NASA plans another uncrewed Boeing Starliner test before astronauts' flight
NASA and Boeing are preparing another uncrewed Starliner flight to the International Space Station, potentially as soon as December, as engineers work toward returning astronauts to the spacecraft by 2028.
After nearly three months of delays that left two U.S. astronauts stranded on the International Space Station, the Boeing Starliner will be launched back to Earth with no crew on board.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft could return to orbit before the end of the year, but there will be no astronauts on board.
NASA and Boeing announced Monday that the next Starliner mission will be an uncrewed engineering test to the International Space Station, giving teams another opportunity to evaluate changes made after propulsion problems disrupted the spacecraft’s first crewed test flight in 2024.
Boeing's Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a mission to the International Space Station, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
The mission, called Starliner-1, could launch in December 2026 or January 2027, according to NASA. The flight is intended to test modifications to the spacecraft, gather performance data and identify any remaining risks before NASA certifies Starliner to regularly carry astronauts.
“We are starting with an uncrewed Starliner-1 mission to the International Space Station to validate the improvements made to the spacecraft and gather the flight data we need,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said.
NASA’s current goal is to return astronauts to Starliner on the following mission, Starliner-2, by 2028.
Engineers focus on Starliner’s thrusters
The new flight plan follows more than two years of work stemming from Starliner’s troubled Crew Flight Test in 2024.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Starliner on June 5, 2024, for what was originally expected to be an approximately eight-day test mission. The spacecraft successfully reached the International Space Station, but several helium leaks developed and five of its 28 reaction-control-system thrusters stopped working during the trip to the orbiting laboratory.
This image made from a NASA live stream shows NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore during a press conference from the International Space Station on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (NASA via AP, File)
Those problems led NASA to conclude it was too risky to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth aboard Starliner. The capsule instead returned without a crew in September 2024, while the astronauts remained aboard the space station and eventually came home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon in March 2025.
Since then, engineers have continued studying Starliner’s propulsion system.
Boeing has made thermal modifications to the spacecraft’s service module that NASA plans to evaluate during Starliner-1. NASA and Boeing also agreed to make another change to the spacecraft’s thruster valve design after the upcoming flight.
NASA said the modification is intended to address an issue known as “poppet seal extrusion,” which can interfere with thruster performance.
After Starliner-1, Boeing also plans to install new crew module thrusters and batteries and make minor changes to the parachute system as part of the certification process.
“Starliner’s next flight is a critical step on the path to achieving full system certification and ensuring a sustained human presence in low Earth orbit,” NASA Low Earth Orbit Program Manager Dana Weigel said.
NASA adds more potential Starliner flights
This photo provided by NASA shows the Starliner spacecraft docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station, orbiting 262 miles above Egypt's Mediterranean coast, on June 13, 2024. (NASA via AP)
The latest announcement also signals renewed plans for Starliner’s longer-term role in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
In November 2025, NASA and Boeing modified their contract, reducing the number of planned Starliner missions from six to four, while preserving options for two additional flights if the spacecraft could be certified. At the time, NASA said the change would allow teams to focus on safely certifying Starliner while aligning its remaining missions with space station operations through 2030.
NASA now says it intends to exercise those options for a fifth and sixth Starliner flight to and from the space station.
The agency is also planning for a change in rockets. Starliner has flown atop United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V, including during the 2024 crewed test. NASA said it will work with Boeing and ULA to certify the newer Vulcan rocket to carry Starliner astronauts after the final Atlas V flight.
United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday. (Photo Credit: Pat Benic/UPI)
NASA has maintained that it wants more than one U.S. spacecraft capable of regularly transporting astronauts to low-Earth orbit. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has handled NASA’s operational crew rotation missions while Starliner has remained grounded.
The upcoming uncrewed flight will determine whether Starliner is ready to move closer to joining it.
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