NASA has postponed the following potential flight of Boeing Co. BA’s Starliner spacecraft to 2026. This delay impacts a vital milestone for the car, which is meant to be an alternative choice to SpaceX‘s Dragon spacecraft.
What Occurred: NASA had initially indicated that Starliner’s subsequent mission to the Worldwide House Station (ISS) would possibly happen by the top of this 12 months. Nonetheless, NASA continues to be figuring out whether or not the upcoming flight will embrace astronauts or solely cargo, in line with a report by Bloomberg.
The delay underscores NASA’s dependence on SpaceX and its CEO, Elon Musk. Musk just lately threatened to decommission the Dragon spacecraft amid a public dispute with President Donald Trump, however later confirmed it could stay operational.
Starliner, the only U.S. various for crew transport to the ISS, has confronted challenges. A failed check flight in 2024 left two astronauts stranded on the ISS for over 9 months, and the car has but to be licensed for human transport. As a consequence of engine points with Starliner, NASA relied on SpaceX’s Dragon to return the astronauts safely.
Why It Issues: The delay in Starliner’s flight is a part of a sequence of setbacks for Boeing BA and its spacecraft program. The corporate has already invested over $2 billion within the Starliner undertaking, which has been stricken by technical points and monetary overruns.
These challenges have made the Starliner some of the costly industrial house missions ever.
In March 2025, NASA and Boeing have been reportedly working to resolve the technical points and transfer ahead with crew certification. Nonetheless, the continued troubles have led Boeing to think about promoting its Starliner and NASA operations in October 2024.
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