Overview

• NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams described their harrowing experience during Starliner’s June 2024 mission, including critical thruster failures that nearly left them without control of the spacecraft.
• The mission required NASA to waive flight rules to allow docking with the ISS after four out of 28 reaction control thrusters failed, with only two partially restored after a reset.
• The astronauts were stranded on the ISS for nine months due to safety concerns with Starliner’s ability to return them to Earth, ultimately returning in March 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
• Boeing’s Starliner remains uncertified for future crewed missions, with NASA and Boeing working to address in-flight anomalies and propulsion system issues.
• The next Starliner crewed mission is unlikely to occur before late 2025 or early 2026, further delaying Boeing’s progress in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.