NASA will fly Starliner uncrewed again before putting astronauts aboard in mid-2028

The uncrewed flight is built around heat. Alongside the hardware work, Boeing says it is making operational changes to reduce the unexpected heating that contributed to the 2024 thruster problems ^[15]. On Starliner 1, the capsule will rendezvous and dock with the station while flight controllers exercise the thrusters and their pressurization systems ^[17]. "We really need to see how those thermal modifications perform on the spacecraft, and we intend to put the propulsion system through its paces," said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA's low-Earth orbit operations ^[19][21].

The board-deck version is short: the faults were diagnosed, the parts are being replaced, and one clean flight clears the way to certification. The skeptical reading starts with a count. Starliner 1 will be the capsule's third flight without a crew ^[1]. The first two both had problems, and the 2024 crewed mission launched after them anyway ^[9]. On that mission's approach to the station, five service module thrusters failed and the ship temporarily lost full maneuverability ^[12].

The reply to the skeptic is that the 2024 faults now have a diagnosis. The review board identified three major problems and a host of lesser shortcomings ^[20]. It tied the service module failures to Teflon poppets extruding in the propellant valves and restricting flow ^[12]. It also found a crew module thruster that failed on the unpiloted descent, leaving no redundancy in a critical system, and helium leaks in the pressurization plumbing ^[13]. The design also lacked the required redundancy in the system that fires the rocket burn to leave orbit ^[14]. Boeing says all of those issues are being addressed ^[15]. The CBS account does not say what result on Starliner 1 would clear a crew for the next flight, or what the rework costs.

NASA's reason for spending the time is supply. "It's always been the Commercial Crew Program's goal to have two crew transportation providers to ensure commercial access to low Earth orbit," Weigel said ^[6]. The agency wants Boeing back as soon as possible to sustain U.S. crew access to the station through its planned retirement in 2030 ^[4]. "Our goal is to fly Starliner One as soon as the vehicle and the team is ready," Weigel said ^[18].

The larger payoff comes after the station. NASA managers want an American spacecraft available for flights to commercial space stations later in the 2030s, after SpaceX phases out Crew Dragon ^[5]. "As SpaceX has publicly stated, the Dragon and the Falcon won't be around forever. Certifying Boeing's Starliner is important for both supporting ISS and also for follow-on future commercial destinations," Weigel said ^[7].

This winter's decision is narrow: whether redesigned valves and thermal changes hold through one docking ^[17]. Its consequence runs through a crewed flight hoped for in mid-2028 ^[2] and on into the commercial-station years. I think NASA has the order right on crew risk. The open question is whether a vehicle that first carries astronauts in 2028 builds enough flight history to be the second provider when those stations need one.

Boeing is pitching the work for that longer horizon. "Together with @NASA, we're making Starliner hardware enhancements and adding resources for human spaceflight certification. These changes support the spacecraft as a long-term provider of crewed missions to low Earth orbit," the company said in a post on X ^[8].