NASA inspector general suggests Boeing's Starliner will now be a decade late
A NASA inspector general report indicates Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will be approximately a decade late, further delaying its operational crewed missions beyond original timelines.
Background
- Boeing's Starliner is a crew capsule designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
- The program, initiated in 2014, awarded contracts to both Boeing ($4.2B) and SpaceX ($2.6B) to end US reliance on Russian Soyuz rockets for ISS taxi service.
- SpaceX's Crew Dragon has been operational since 2020, flying regular crew rotations. Starliner, by contrast, has suffered years of technical failures, including software glitches, valve corrosion, and parachute issues.
- A NASA Inspector General report now projects Starliner will not be certified for regular crewed missions until 2027 — roughly a decade after its originally planned 2017 debut — and could cost taxpayers nearly $2B above initial projections.
- The report highlights ongoing problems with Boeing's quality control and NASA's oversight. Boeing has taken over $1.6B in charges against earnings for Starliner's delays but has yet to fly a crewed mission.