NASA and Boeing outline Starliner’s test schedule

NASA and Boeing announced an updated Starliner test plan on September 28, 2026. NASA says the uncrewed Starliner-1 could fly to the International Space Station in December 2026 or January 2027; its current plan is to return astronauts on Starliner-2 by 2028, after evaluation, corrective work, testing and certification.

Why Starliner-1 is planned without a crew

NASA describes Starliner-1 as an engineering evaluation flight. It is intended to test spacecraft improvements, gather data for system qualification and identify any remaining risks before crewed missions. The mission’s results will inform the work and certification required for a later crewed flight.

What Boeing has changed and what remains planned

Boeing has made thermal modifications to Starliner’s service module, which NASA plans to evaluate during Starliner-1. NASA and Boeing also plan a change to the thruster-valve design to address poppet-seal extrusion and its effects on thruster performance.

Further planned work includes new thrusters and batteries for the crew module, plus minor modifications to the parachute system. These changes form part of the broader testing and certification effort.

What NASA’s investigation found

NASA’s investigation of the 2024 Crew Flight Test identified 61 recommendations. It found that the service-module reaction-control thrusters operated outside engineering qualification. NASA identified multiple factors in the performance problems, including thermal conditions and design features.

The investigation also cited combined hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps and cultural breakdowns, and classified the event as a Type A mishap. NASA said the Starliner mission was extended to 93 days after propulsion anomalies were identified; the spacecraft returned to Earth without its astronauts in September 2024.

The planned Starliner flight sequence