NASA faults agency and Boeing over Starliner failures
In the summer of 2024, the plight of two NASA astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, drew global attention. During the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner to the International Space Station, the spacecraft experienced propulsion system anomalies after its June 5, 2024 launch. NASA ultimately decided it was safer for the astronauts to return to Earth aboard a different vehicle.
As a result, Starliner landed autonomously in September 2024, while Williams and Wilmore remained aboard the ISS. They finally returned to Earth in March 2025 on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. Williams retired later that year.
NASA has since released a redacted investigative report detailing what went wrong. The findings place responsibility on both the agency and its contractor, Boeing. The report cites a mix of technical shortcomings and cultural failures, noting that investigations into the precise engineering causes are still ongoing.
“The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced challenges throughout its uncrewed and most recent crewed missions,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. “While Boeing built Starliner, NASA accepted it and launched two astronauts to space.”
The incident has been classified as a Type A mishap, NASA’s highest-level designation, reserved for the most serious events. Past Type A mishaps include the Space Shuttle Columbia and Space Shuttle Challenger disasters.
According to the report, investigators identified “a complex interplay of hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps and cultural breakdowns” that together posed unacceptable risks to crew safety.
Under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Boeing and SpaceX are contracted to transport astronauts to and from low Earth orbit. SpaceX has been conducting operational crewed flights to the ISS since 2020, establishing a steady cadence of missions.
Isaacman emphasized that while engineering flaws must be corrected, deeper organizational issues are of greater concern. “Starliner has design and engineering deficiencies that must be corrected,” he said at a press conference. “But the most troubling failure revealed by this investigation is not hardware. It’s decision-making and leadership that, if left unchecked, could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight.”
NASA says it is implementing corrective actions in response to the findings, aiming to strengthen oversight, accountability and safety across its commercial partnerships.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com