NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a $359 million commitment to Boeing’s Starliner program, targeting an uncrewed cargo flight and a crewed mission in 2028. The funding also covers certifying the Vulcan rocket for human spaceflight.
The space agency is doubling down on its troubled capsule in an effort to secure a second American route to orbit before the International Space Station is retired. The decision follows an uncrewed return in 2024 that stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in space for months, prompting a scathing safety investigation and widespread design overhauls.
NASA Invests $359 Million in Starliner and Vulcan Upgrades
The additional $359 million announced by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman targets critical technical corrections identified after Starliner’s first crewed flight test. Agency officials and Boeing executives detailed the investment at a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center, outlining a path that includes rebuilding the reaction control system thrusters that overheated during flight and supporting United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket certification.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated that the agency has always remained dedicated to seeing the program through with Boeing. Boeing shares traded slightly higher at $184.55 in pre-market trading following the announcement, reflecting market response to the continued partnership. Boeing Vice President and Commercial Crew Program Manager John Mulholland joined senior agency leadership at the Kennedy Space Center briefing to outline the path forward for the CST-100 spacecraft.
The partnership aims to resolve service module thruster performance issues that operated outside their engineering qualification during the 2024 mission. Boeing has already implemented thermal modifications to the spacecraft’s service module, and teams plan an additional thruster valve design modification to address poppet seal extrusion before any astronauts climb back aboard.
Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program, emphasized that validating the thermal performance remains a necessary element required for eventual system certification.
Through extensive ground testing and engineering analysis, program teams determined that the service module thruster problems stemmed from a combination of the surrounding thermal environment and inherent design characteristics.
NASA Targets Cargo Test Flight and 2028 Crewed Mission Timeline
Before any humans fly again, NASA and Boeing are scheduling an uncrewed cargo flight known as Starliner-1. That mission is targeted to lift off in either December 2026 or January 2027 to serve as an engineering evaluation test.
“Starliner’s next flight is a critical step on the path to achieving full system certification and ensuring a sustained human presence in low Earth orbit,”
Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program
The upcoming uncrewed flight will gather essential performance data and verify that the thermal modifications perform as intended in the space environment. Future missions will transition away from the Atlas V rocket, which United Launch Alliance is planning to retire, in favor of ULA’s new Vulcan heavy-lift rocket.
If that uncrewed flight validates the modifications, NASA plans to use Starliner-2 to carry astronauts to the orbital outpost no earlier than 2028. NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg is designated to command the Starliner-2 flight, following the retirements of both Wilmore and Williams.
Butch Wilmore retired from NASA in August 2025 after a 25-year career as a NASA astronaut, while Suni Williams retired in January 2026 after more than 27 years with the space agency following the 2024 flight test. Isaacman praised Woody Hoburg as an exceptional candidate whose experience will benefit the upcoming mission significantly.
NASA Balances Commercial Crew Options as SpaceX Advances
NASA’s continued investment in Boeing comes against changing market conditions. While SpaceX maintains routine operations with its Dragon capsule under a contract totaling $5.92 billion through 2030, Isaacman noted that SpaceX intends to eventually sunset its Falcon 9 and Dragon platforms to concentrate on the larger Starship system.
Isaacman pointed out that NASA’s projected demand for astronaut flights stands at just two seats every six to nine months, making a completely separate multi-billion-dollar crew competition hard to justify. With SpaceX serving current needs reliably and Boeing working toward operational readiness, the agency maintains two distinct providers to ensure redundancy for low Earth orbit destinations.
Boeing has absorbed more than $2 billion in losses on the Starliner program alongside $5.1 billion provided under NASA’s fixed-price contract and $4.82 billion for four flight missions. For the newly ordered Starliner-2 through Starliner-6 missions, NASA and Boeing agreed to a price of approximately $90 million per seat, though future commercial pricing for the 2030s remains open as Boeing works to certify the Vulcan rocket.