Boeing Starliner may launch this year as propulsion fixes progress

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft could launch a cargo mission to the International Space Station in 2026, CEO Kelly Ortberg said on July 28, 2026, with the main hurdle now scheduling a docking port with NASA.

Ortberg said the propulsion system deficiencies that caused the 2024 crewed test flight to be classified as a “Type A” mishap are largely resolved.

That test flight left NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams stranded on the station; they returned on a SpaceX Crew Dragon in early 2025.

If the cargo test succeeds, a crewed Starliner mission is possible in late 2027.

Boeing has taken about $2 billion in charges on its fixed-price Commercial Crew contract, signed in 2014. Starliner’s expendable Service Module costs tens of millions of dollars per flight. With United Launch Alliance retiring the Atlas V rocket, human-rating Vulcan would add further expense.

SpaceX plans to retire Crew Dragon by 2030, raising concerns for NASA and private space station operators. Boeing explored selling Starliner in early 2025, but no deal closed because of a high asking price. Blue Origin is developing its own crew vehicle instead.

The cost of human spaceflight to low-Earth orbit in the 2030s is expected to rise significantly until Starship becomes fully operational.