NASA and Boeing hold joint Starliner news conference

NASA and Boeing held a joint news conference on Starliner. The spacecraft is described as in development, with regular crew flights planned.

Starliner's crewed demonstration failed, and the vehicle must prove safety on an uncrewed flight.

Starliner has been upgraded and redesigned after performance issues in flight.

A service-module helium leak had an identified cause, and seals were changed to new material with tighter tolerances.

A crew-module thruster anomaly was traced to internal valve corrosion. New controls were added for flushing and purging thrusters between mission operations, and service-module thermal changes were made to reduce thruster temperatures.

The 2024 crewed test flight carried NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams.

Starliner's progress affects NASA's crew transportation options because Crew Dragon is currently the only available crew option, and it is associated with SpaceX.

The commercial crew framework was built to accommodate at least two providers, and NASA wants more crew and cargo suppliers, a vigorous commercial LEO destination, and a broader orbital economy.

NASA intends to purchase no fewer than one crewed LEO mission every six months, continuing into the 2030s, and would welcome private capital for another crewed spacecraft.

SpaceX intends to phase out older platforms such as Falcon and Dragon, while Starship is characterized as next-generation capability.

Starliner must demonstrate safety on an uncrewed flight.

A crewed mission is scheduled for 2028, with NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg assigned to fly to the ISS.