Boeing Starliner Faces Delays Amid Concerns Over Management Issues

WHO:

SpaceNews - NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), Boeing, NASA, Boeing Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

The Register - NASA, Boeing.

WHAT:

SpaceNews - A report by NASA’s OIG links technical problems with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner to overconfidence, unrealistic schedules, and NASA’s lack of insight.

SpaceNews - Starliner has not flown since its Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission two years ago, which suffered thruster malfunctions and other issues.

SpaceNews - The CFT mission was classified as a “Type A” mishap more than a year and a half after its launch.

The Register - Boeing has conducted two orbital flight tests and one crewed flight test of Starliner, all encountering significant issues.

The Register - NASA has questioned $127.9 million in payments to Boeing for a mission that is uncertain.

WHERE:

SpaceNews - The International Space Station (ISS).

The Register - NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).

WHEN:

SpaceNews - The CFT mission was launched in June 2024.

SpaceNews - NASA astronauts returned from the ISS in March 2025.

SpaceNews - NASA plans to decommission the ISS in 2030.

SpaceNews - Starliner-1 is expected to fly “in the next year or so” as stated on June 22.

SpaceNews - NASA officials noted fall 2026 as the likely timeframe for Starliner’s certification.

SpaceNews - The OIG report stated that certification would likely slip to 2027.

The Register - The first flight of Starliner occurred in 2019.

WHY:

SpaceNews - NASA was overconfident in Boeing’s design and potential success, leading to unrealistic schedules.

SpaceNews - NASA lacked access to Starliner flight simulator data due to contract limitations.

The Register - Staffing constraints driven by the Trump administration’s cost-cutting measures hindered oversight.

HOW:

SpaceNews - NASA allowed Boeing to skip integrated testing of systems.

SpaceNews - The OIG report criticized NASA for waiting until February to classify the CFT mission as a mishap.

The Register - Boeing has been unable to obtain human-rating certification for Starliner and the Atlas V launch vehicle.

(UPDATED July 2, 2026 15:49 UTC)

A new report from NASA’s Office of Inspector General has linked technical problems with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner to overconfidence and unrealistic schedules, revealing that the spacecraft has not flown since its Crew Flight Test mission in June 2024, which faced significant malfunctions. Boeing has conducted two orbital flight tests and one crewed flight test of Starliner, all encountering major issues, and NASA has raised concerns over $127.9 million in payments to Boeing for a mission that remains uncertain. Looking ahead, NASA officials have noted that fall 2026 is the likely timeframe for Starliner's certification, although the OIG report suggests this could slip to 2027.