Boeings Starliner set for potential 2026 cargo run to ISS

Date:
Sat, 01 Aug 2026 22:26:30 +0000

Description:
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has noted redesign work on the companys CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is The post Boeings Starliner set for potential 2026 cargo run to ISS appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg has noted redesign work on the companys CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is advancing well, though the company must still coordinate with NASA on future launch plans.

Part of the conversation will focus on the International Space Stations Visiting Vehicles schedule, which coordinates arrivals and departures at available docking ports.

The comments, made during Boeings latest earnings call, mark the clearest public update in months on the troubled commercial crew vehicle.

The redesign of the Starliner deficiencies is going quite well, and were feeling pretty good about that, Ortberg said. But weve got to work with NASA to align on how the launches are going to be, both the crewed and uncrewed launches going forward.

Starliner and SpaceXs Crew Dragon were selected under NASAs Commercial Crew Program to restore independent U.S. crew transportation to low Earth orbit after the Space Shuttle retired in 2011.

Dragon has flown regular operational missions since its first crewed flight
in 2020. Starliners development has faced repeated technical setbacks and schedule slips.

The capsules first uncrewed Orbital Flight Test in December 2019 failed to reach the ISS after a Mission Elapsed Timer error caused thrusters to fire incorrectly. The vehicle returned safely to Earth but did not achieve most mission objectives.

A second uncrewed flight, OFT-2 in May 2022, successfully docked with the station despite propulsion anomalies and helium leaks.

The Crew Flight Test launched in June 2024 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard Starliner Calypso. After a successful Atlas V launch from Cape Canaveral, the capsule experienced multiple Reaction Control System thruster failures during the docking sequence.

The crew reached the station safely, but NASA determined the risk was too
high for a crewed return. Calypso successfully returned uncrewed in September 2024. Wilmore and Williams came home on SpaceXs Crew-9 Dragon in early 2025.

NASA later classified the propulsion anomalies as a Type-A mishap, the
agencys most severe category, involving substantial damage potential or major mission impact. Investigators found design and engineering issues dating to the programs early stages, including components operated outside certified limits and a failure to meet NASAs two-failure-tolerance requirement for deorbit burns. NASA has decided Starliners next flight will be an uncrewed cargo mission rather than a crewed operational flight. In February, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated the vehicle would not fly again crewed
or uncrewed until the agency is fully satisfied with its readiness.

Boeing is implementing hardware and software changes to address thruster reliability, helium leaks, and failure-tolerance shortfalls. The company has conducted extensive ground testing in coordination with NASA.

Ortbergs remarks suggest the technical work is progressing, with remaining issues centered on joint decisions about mission profiles, certification, and return-to-flight approval.

Scheduling constraints on the International Space Station further complicate plans. Only two docking ports are compatible with Starliner, both on the Harmony module. One is typically occupied by a Crew Dragon, while the second often hosts cargo vehicles or supports crew handovers.

Traffic from Progress, Soyuz, Cygnus, and other vehicles limits available windows. NASA and its partners also avoid overloading the station crew with overlapping operations. The station is currently planned to operate through 2030.

Eric Berger of Ars Technica discussed the potential options during NSFs Flame Trench Show:



An uncrewed Starliner mission could launch before the end of 2026. Boeing is working to have redesigned hardware ready to support that goal, though technical certification, NASA approval, and ISS scheduling must still align.

The Commercial Crew Program was designed to give NASA two independent
American crew transportation systems. Dragon has fulfilled that role for more than five years. Starliners path has proven longer and more difficult than anticipated when contracts were awarded in 2014.

The coming months will determine whether the latest progress results in a return to flight before 2027.

(Lead image via Boeing/NASA)



The post Boeings Starliner set for potential 2026 cargo run to ISS appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/08/boeing-starliner-2026-iss/


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