Seems like ULA is saving some of these for Starliner LaunchesQuoteLukas C. H.@GewoonLukas_On November 19th, ULA placed the Atlas V Common Core Booster for the LA-04 mission on the Mobile Launch Platform, kicking off the launch campaign. Including LA-04, there are 11 Atlas V launches remaining. 5 of these will be for Amazon Leo, the other 6 will be for Starliner.https://twitter.com/GewoonLukas_/status/1992630230734065985
Lukas C. H.@GewoonLukas_On November 19th, ULA placed the Atlas V Common Core Booster for the LA-04 mission on the Mobile Launch Platform, kicking off the launch campaign. Including LA-04, there are 11 Atlas V launches remaining. 5 of these will be for Amazon Leo, the other 6 will be for Starliner.
The 6 for Starliner are wholly owned by Boeing directly which the parents of ULA have a right to do. ULA is only a contractor. Boeing would have to sell them back to ULA or directly to another customer if Starliner is cancelled at any point.
In 2014, NASA awarded a Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract to Boeing to fly astronauts to and from the International Space Station with its Starliner spacecraft. As part of its contract, Boeing was awarded up to six crewed flights to the orbital complex.After a thorough evaluation, NASA and Boeing have mutually agreed to modify the contract. As part of the modification, the definitive order has been adjusted to four missions, with the remaining two available as options. The next Starliner flight, known as Starliner-1, will be used by NASA to deliver necessary cargo to the orbital laboratory and allow in-flight validation of the system upgrades implemented following the Crew Flight Test mission last year. NASA and Boeing are targeting no earlier than April 2026 to fly the uncrewed Starliner-1 pending completion of rigorous test, certification, and mission readiness activities. Following Starliner certification, and a successful Starliner-1 mission, Starliner will fly up to three crew rotations to the International Space Station. “NASA and Boeing are continuing to rigorously test the Starliner propulsion system in preparation for two potential flights next year,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “This modification allows NASA and Boeing to focus on safely certifying the system in 2026, execute Starliner’s first crew rotation when ready, and align our ongoing flight planning for future Starliner missions based on station’s operational needs through 2030.”Certification of Boeing’s Starliner remains important to NASA’s goal of sustained human presence in low Earth orbit and dissimilar redundancy is essential to supporting the agency’s goals and international obligations.
1881-EX-ST-2025 [Sep 26]QuoteThis STA is necessary for command, tracking, and analysis of the Boeing CST-100 Crew Capsule mission to the International Space Station.Operation Start Date: 12/20/2025Operation End Date: 06/16/20261882-EX-ST-2025QuoteApplication supporting CST-100 mission Landing and Alternate Landing Sites[...]Wilcox Playa, ArizonaDugway Proving Ground, UtahEdwards Air Force Base, CaliforniaWhite Sands Missile Range, New MexicoODAR and Tech Description are restricted.
This STA is necessary for command, tracking, and analysis of the Boeing CST-100 Crew Capsule mission to the International Space Station.Operation Start Date: 12/20/2025Operation End Date: 06/16/2026
Application supporting CST-100 mission Landing and Alternate Landing Sites[...]Wilcox Playa, ArizonaDugway Proving Ground, UtahEdwards Air Force Base, CaliforniaWhite Sands Missile Range, New Mexico
Precourt said officials from Boeing and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which oversees the agency’s Starliner contract, “were signaling return on Starliner was the expected outcome” for Wilmore and Williams. “Other NASA entities in the decision process were not in concurrence,” Precourt continued. “As a result, there was significant stress on the workforce, with many believing the sole objective was to determine a means by which we could enable crew return on the Starliner.”It would have been better, Precourt and other panel members said Friday, if NASA made a formal declaration of an in-flight “mishap” or “high visibility close call” soon after the Starliner spacecraft’s troubled rendezvous with the ISS. Such a declaration would have elevated responsibility for the investigation to NASA’s safety office.“The ASAP finding is the lack of a declared in-flight mishap or high visibility close call contributed to an extensive, excessive … period of time where risk ownership and the decision-making authority were unclear,” Precourt said.
National Air and Space Museum@airandspace·Announcing the winners of the Museum’s 2026 Michael Collins Trophy for Current Achievement: The crew of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test Astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore’s extensive spaceflight experience prepared them to not just adapt but excel with personal strength, grace, and competence when their eight-day mission turned into one that lasted more than nine months. #CollinsTrophy
Commercial CrewThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration has contracted us to design and build the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to transport crews to the International Space Station (ISS) and in the second quarter of 2022, we successfully completed the uncrewed Orbital Flight Test. The Crewed Flight Test launched on June 5, 2024, and docked with the ISS. Its return to Earth was delayed to allow time to perform further testing of propulsion system anomalies and returned to Earth uncrewed in September 2024. During 2024, we increased the reach-forward loss by $523 primarily to reflect schedule delays and higher testing and certification costs as well as higher costs for post certification missions. We recorded an immaterial reach-forward loss in 2025. We and the customer are planning to launch an uncrewed mission during the first half of 2026 and a crewed mission later in 2026. We are continuing to work toward crew certification and resolve the propulsion system anomalies. At December 31, 2025, we had approximately $544 of capitalized precontract costs and $4 of potential termination liabilities to suppliers related to unauthorized future missions. Risk remains that we may record additional losses in future periods.
Steve Stich (Crew-12 Prelaunch): Will decide in the summer whether Crew-13 or Starliner-2 will be the next crew rotation mission in the Fall.
NSF - NASASpaceflight.com@NASASpaceflightThis will be interesting!NASA to Provide Starliner Crew Flight Test Review Findings Today."During a news conference at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, NASA will discuss the findings of investigations into the 2024 crewed test flight of Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station. "
QuoteAgency leaders are discussing the findings of investigations into the 2024 crewed test flight of Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station.
Agency leaders are discussing the findings of investigations into the 2024 crewed test flight of Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman@NASAAdmin·14sBelow is the note that I sent to the NASA workforce today as we release the report on the Starliner Crew Flight Test Investigation.We will achieve success through extreme ownership, immense competence, and decisive action.
Jay Keegan@_jaykeegan_·1hBoeing statement in response to @NASASpaceflight
Official NASA Press Release and "Starliner Propulsion System Anomalies during the Crewed Flight Test - Investigation Report 02/05/2026" (See attachment), 312-page report.NASA Releases Report on Starliner Crewed Flight Test InvestigationBY:Cheryl WarnerNews ChiefFULL Text:QuoteAt a news conference on Thursday, NASA released a report of findings from the Program Investigation Team examining the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. “The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced challenges throughout its uncrewed and most recent crewed missions. While Boeing built Starliner, NASA accepted it and launched two astronauts to space. The technical difficulties encountered during docking with the International Space Station were very apparent,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “To undertake missions that change the world, we must be transparent about both our successes and our shortcomings. We have to own our mistakes and ensure they never happen again. Beyond technical issues, it is clear that NASA permitted overarching programmatic objectives of having two providers capable of transporting astronauts to-and-from orbit, influence engineering and operational decisions, especially during and immediately after the mission. We are correcting those mistakes. Today, we are formally declaring a Type A mishap and ensuring leadership accountability so situations like this never reoccur. We look forward to working with Boeing as both organizations implement corrective actions and return Starliner to flight only when ready.” Starliner launched June 5, 2024, on its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station. Originally planned as an eight-to-14-day mission, the flight was extended to 93 days after propulsion system anomalies were identified while the spacecraft was in orbit. After reviewing flight data and conducting ground test at White Sands Test Facility, NASA decided to return the spacecraft without NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Starliner returned from the space station in September 2024, landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Wilmore and Williams later returned safely to Earth aboard the agency’s SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in March 2025. In February 2025, NASA chartered an independent Program Investigation Team to investigate the technical, organizational, and cultural contributors to the test flight issues. This report was completed in November 2025. NASA and Boeing have been working together since Starliner returned 18 months ago to identify and address the challenges encountered during the mission, and the technical root cause work continues. Investigators identified an interplay of combined hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps, and cultural breakdowns that created risk conditions inconsistent with NASA’s human spaceflight safety standards. NASA will accept this as the final report. As a result, NASA is taking corrective actions to address the findings of the report, in an effort to ensure the lessons learned contribute to crew and mission safety of future Starliner flights and all NASA programs. Due to the loss of the spacecraft’s maneuverability as the crew approached the space station and the associated financial damages incurred, NASA has classified the test flight as a Type A mishap. While there were no injuries and the mission regained control prior to docking, this highest-level classification designation recognizes there was potential for a significant mishap. NASA will continue to work closely with Boeing to fully understand and solve the technical challenges with the Starliner vehicle alongside incorporating the investigative recommendations before flying the next mission. For the full report, which includes redactions in coordination with our commercial partner to protect proprietary and privacy-sensitive material is available online. A 508-compliant version of the report is forthcoming, and will be posted on this page. NASA will update with an editor’s note when complete.https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/nasa-report-with-redactions-021926.pdf?emrc=76e561-end-
At a news conference on Thursday, NASA released a report of findings from the Program Investigation Team examining the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Test as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. “The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced challenges throughout its uncrewed and most recent crewed missions. While Boeing built Starliner, NASA accepted it and launched two astronauts to space. The technical difficulties encountered during docking with the International Space Station were very apparent,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “To undertake missions that change the world, we must be transparent about both our successes and our shortcomings. We have to own our mistakes and ensure they never happen again. Beyond technical issues, it is clear that NASA permitted overarching programmatic objectives of having two providers capable of transporting astronauts to-and-from orbit, influence engineering and operational decisions, especially during and immediately after the mission. We are correcting those mistakes. Today, we are formally declaring a Type A mishap and ensuring leadership accountability so situations like this never reoccur. We look forward to working with Boeing as both organizations implement corrective actions and return Starliner to flight only when ready.” Starliner launched June 5, 2024, on its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station. Originally planned as an eight-to-14-day mission, the flight was extended to 93 days after propulsion system anomalies were identified while the spacecraft was in orbit. After reviewing flight data and conducting ground test at White Sands Test Facility, NASA decided to return the spacecraft without NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Starliner returned from the space station in September 2024, landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Wilmore and Williams later returned safely to Earth aboard the agency’s SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in March 2025. In February 2025, NASA chartered an independent Program Investigation Team to investigate the technical, organizational, and cultural contributors to the test flight issues. This report was completed in November 2025. NASA and Boeing have been working together since Starliner returned 18 months ago to identify and address the challenges encountered during the mission, and the technical root cause work continues. Investigators identified an interplay of combined hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps, and cultural breakdowns that created risk conditions inconsistent with NASA’s human spaceflight safety standards. NASA will accept this as the final report. As a result, NASA is taking corrective actions to address the findings of the report, in an effort to ensure the lessons learned contribute to crew and mission safety of future Starliner flights and all NASA programs. Due to the loss of the spacecraft’s maneuverability as the crew approached the space station and the associated financial damages incurred, NASA has classified the test flight as a Type A mishap. While there were no injuries and the mission regained control prior to docking, this highest-level classification designation recognizes there was potential for a significant mishap. NASA will continue to work closely with Boeing to fully understand and solve the technical challenges with the Starliner vehicle alongside incorporating the investigative recommendations before flying the next mission. For the full report, which includes redactions in coordination with our commercial partner to protect proprietary and privacy-sensitive material is available online. A 508-compliant version of the report is forthcoming, and will be posted on this page. NASA will update with an editor’s note when complete.https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/nasa-report-with-redactions-021926.pdf?emrc=76e561-end-
Senator Jerry Moran@JerryMoran·37mI’ve spoken with @NASAAdminJared Isaacman regarding the investigation of NASA’s Boeing Starliner. I appreciate his efforts to handle the situation transparently and to prioritize the safety of NASA’s astronauts, but I am concerned by NASA’s failure to acknowledge the severity of these problems at the time they occurred.The operational and technical issues detailed in this report must be immediately resolved to ensure we maintain redundant, safe U.S. crew transportation options to the International Space Station from our commercial partners. I appreciate Administrator Isaacman’s commitment to me that NASA will implement corrective actions and work closely with Boeing to make certain these failures are not repeated.
