Starliner Grounded: NASA-Boeing Flight Alignment Pending
NASA and Boeing continue to address propulsion hardware upgrades for the CST-100 Starliner, with a firm return-to-flight date missing from the upcoming ISS manifest.
Manifest Conflict
NASA remains in a holding pattern regarding the next launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner. According to SpaceNews, Bill Spetch, deputy manager of NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Program, confirmed during a July 30 briefing that while technical progress is being made, no definitive flight date has been secured. The spacecraft has remained grounded since a crewed test flight two years ago revealed critical propulsion system deficiencies.
The Starliner-1 Hurdle
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg recently indicated that the primary challenge is synchronizing the Starliner-1 mission—a cargo-only test flight—with the International Space Station's (ISS) rigid docking schedule. Despite Boeing’s SEC filings targeting a late-year launch, Starliner was notably absent from NASA’s autumn and winter manifest. The station’s current schedule is saturated with SpaceX’s Crew-13 and CRS-35 missions, followed by the Northrop Grumman NG-25 Cygnus arrival.
Running Out of Runway
Time is a finite resource for the Boeing program. To achieve a long-duration crew rotation by 2027, the Starliner-1 cargo mission must succeed shortly. However, Boeing’s contract has already been reduced from six missions to four. With the ISS slated for decommissioning in 2030, the window to fulfill these remaining contractual obligations is narrowing significantly.
Operational Briefing
In the interim, NASA is focusing on three critical spacewalks in August to upgrade solar arrays and replace docking navigation aids. Additionally, the agency announced Deniz Burnham will join Soyuz MS-30 in March 2025. While Starliner upgrades continue, Spetch emphasized that the vehicle will only fly when both the hardware and the ISS docking window are ready.