NASA to Order Additional Starliner Flights and Fund Fixes as SpaceX Plans Crew Dragon Phase-out

NASA is set to announce a contract for two additional crewed flights of Boeing’s Starliner capsule, along with funding to address persistent thruster problems and assistance in certifying the spacecraft for launch on a replacement rocket. The move comes as SpaceX has indicated that its Crew Dragon vehicle will be retired by 2030, leaving the agency without its current crew transport option.

"We’re not retiring it today, for sure," SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell said when asked about extending Dragon operations, adding that Boeing should "step up and deliver" because the government has already invested heavily in the program.

Starliner’s development has been troubled, with multiple uncrewed test failures and a near-catastrophic incident during its first crewed flight in June 2024 that forced astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return to Earth aboard a Dragon capsule. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman later wrote that the mishap highlighted not only design flaws but also shortcomings in decision-making and leadership.

The agency’s Commercial Crew program, a fixed-price contract, has already required Boeing to absorb more than $2 billion in costs. NASA’s forthcoming support will help resolve the propulsion issues and fund certification of a new launch system, as the Atlas V rocket that currently carries Starliner is slated for retirement. Potential successors include United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets.

With SpaceX’s planned withdrawal, NASA seeks to preserve a domestic crew-launch capability for the International Space Station’s successor and emerging private space stations. While the agency could explore additional competitors, it appears to be focusing on sustaining Starliner as the primary alternative to Dragon in the near term.