Boeing’s Starliner docked to the International Space Station on July 3, 2024. Archival image. Credit: NASA. Image source.

NASA is giving Boeing’s Starliner a path back to flight, with another uncrewed mission before astronauts climb aboard.

In its September 28 update, the agency said Starliner-1 could launch in December 2026 or January 2027. Its current plan calls for astronauts to fly on Starliner-2 by 2028. NASA also intends to exercise options for two additional station missions and work with Boeing and United Launch Alliance to certify Vulcan as a future launch vehicle.

The announcement addresses a goal NASA has pursued for years: having more than one American system available to transport crews. Starliner’s troubled history explains why the route back involves much more than setting a launch date.

NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in 2014 to develop transportation to the International Space Station, aiming to end the country’s sole reliance on Russian spacecraft for those trips. The original awards had maximum potential values of $4.2 billion for Boeing and $2.6 billion for SpaceX. Those figures describe the contracts announced then, rather than today’s total spending.

The companies would own and operate their vehicles, with NASA buying services and certifying the systems for its crews. Their spacecraft would also provide a way home for astronauts living aboard the station.

NASA continued to emphasize the value of different transportation systems in its November 2025 Starliner contract update. That update reduced the firm order to four missions, leaving two more available as options. It also targeted the next uncrewed flight for no earlier than April 2026, illustrating how substantially the timetable has shifted.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Starliner in June 2024. Propulsion problems during the mission prompted an extended investigation into whether they should return on the spacecraft.

NASA’s August 2024 decision was to bring Starliner home without them. The astronauts remained aboard the station, where they carried out research, maintenance and other work.

They eventually returned in SpaceX’s Crew-9 Dragon on March 18, 2025. NASA recorded 286 days in space for the pair. During that time, Williams and Wilmore also participated in spacewalks. Their long stay became the most visible consequence of Starliner’s problems, but the subsequent investigations examined decisions made well before launch.

In February 2026, NASA classified the 2024 test flight as a Type A mishap, its most serious category. The agency cited lost maneuverability as Starliner approached the station and the associated financial damage. Control was regained before docking, and nobody was injured.

The investigation announcement described failures involving hardware, qualification testing, leadership and organizational culture. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also acknowledged that the desire to have two crew-transport providers had influenced engineering and operational decisions.

A separate June audit by NASA’s Office of Inspector General found that the agency had been overconfident in Boeing’s experience and accepted unrealistic schedules. It also said NASA had not fully used its contractual rights to examine flight-simulator training data.

These findings place responsibility on both the spacecraft’s developer and the agency responsible for deciding whether it is ready to carry people.

The same June audit reported that NASA had spent an additional $17 million to accelerate SpaceX flights originally planned for Starliner. Auditors also questioned $127.9 million in payments to Boeing connected with prematurely authorized flights whose future remained uncertain.

Those are specific, dated audit findings. They should not be confused with the full cost of the program or treated as a finding that all the money was lost.

The inspector general also identified workforce constraints that could make technical oversight and certification harder. Repairing the vehicle therefore sits alongside a second task: ensuring NASA has the people, information and decision-making processes needed to evaluate it.

According to the September plan, Starliner-1 will evaluate changes to the spacecraft’s thermal environment and collect performance data. A further thruster-valve modification and other upgrades remain part of the work toward crewed certification. The proposed flight window is conditional, and NASA’s launch calendar still lists Starliner-1 as under review.

Certification has always covered the whole journey. NASA’s commercial crew requirements describe testing the integrated rocket and spacecraft through launch, orbital maneuvering, docking and safe landing, along with preparing astronauts to operate the vehicle.

That makes the next launch one part of a longer evaluation. A completed test must produce usable evidence about performance, and the remaining modifications must still be assessed. NASA’s stated commitment to another provider leaves that work unfinished: Starliner has a proposed route back to crewed service, with testing and certification still ahead.