NASA has thrown Boeing a lifeline, committing $359 million to rescue its troubled Starliner spacecraft and lock in a minimum of five future flights.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that “SpaceX intends to sunset older platforms like Falcon and Dragon as they concentrate on their next-generation capability, Starship.”
With that shift looming, Isaacman said Boeing’s “Starliner has an important role to play” in filling the crew transportation gap left by SpaceX’s transition away from its current vehicles.
The announcement comes two years after stuck valves, helium leaks, and thruster failures forced NASA to send a SpaceX Crew Dragon to retrieve astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station.
Boeing has since made thermal modifications and addressed the helium leaks, but a full redesign of the reaction control system thrusters is still required before astronauts board Starliner again.
Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program, said the $359 million will help Boeing complete a rebuild of the thrusters that overheated in flight and support certification work for the new Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Starliner also needs a new ride to orbit, as the Atlas rockets that previously carried it to the ISS are scheduled for retirement in the near future.
NASA is working with Boeing and United Launch Alliance to certify the new Vulcan Centaur rocket for crewed missions, replacing Atlas as Starliner’s primary launch vehicle going forward.
Under the new contract, NASA will fly Starliner at least five times and potentially as many as seven, beginning with an uncrewed test flight called Starliner 1 expected in December 2026 or January 2027.
Following that uncrewed mission, an 18-month pause is planned before a crewed flight to the ISS in mid-2028, designated Starliner 2, gets underway.
If crewed flights proceed smoothly, additional missions could follow to the ISS and eventually to private space stations that NASA hopes will replace the government-owned International Space Station.
Weigel also confirmed Monday that NASA is reopening the possibility of requiring two additional flights from Boeing under its existing contract terms.
SpaceX has been awarded $5.92 billion in NASA contracts covering a demonstration mission and 17 operational flights, while Boeing holds $4.82 billion covering a mandatory four flights, not counting the new $359 million injection.
Boeing has absorbed more than $2 billion in losses on the Starliner program, with NASA already providing $5.1 billion under the fixed-price Commercial Crew contract before this latest funding was added.
The agency’s decision to double down on Starliner reflects a clear strategic calculation: without a second American crew ferry, NASA risks having no alternative once SpaceX retires Falcon 9 and Dragon to pursue Starship development.
