NASA, Boeing Share Update on Commercial Starliner Development Plans
On Monday, NASA and Boeing announced updates regarding the Starliner spacecraft, including plans to add fifth and sixth crew missions to the International Space Station and certify the Vulcan rocket following the final flight of the Atlas V.
On Monday, NASA and Boeing announced updates regarding the Starliner spacecraft, including plans to add fifth and sixth crew missions to the International Space Station and certify the Vulcan rocket following the final flight of the Atlas V. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated that the agency intends to return astronauts on Starliner-2 by 2028, following an uncrewed Starliner-1 mission scheduled for December of this year or January 2027.
This upcoming uncrewed flight will serve to validate improvements, gather flight data, and verify thermal environments. The updates follow findings released in February by an agency Program Investigation Team regarding technical issues during the 2024 Crew Flight Test, which resulted in 61 recommendations. Investigations determined that service module reaction control thrusters operated outside engineering qualifications due to thermal environments and design features, leading to poppet seal extrusion issues.
In response, Boeing has made thermal modifications to the service module and will implement an additional thruster valve design modification. Furthermore, Boeing will install new crew module thrusters and batteries, and make minor parachute system modifications to increase reliability and support system certification.
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