Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft won’t carry astronauts on next mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Boeing’s next Starliner mission to the International Space Station won’t have astronauts on board.

What we know:

The next Starliner flight, dubbed Starliner-1, will be a cargo-only mission to the space station, NASA announced Monday. 

NASA and Boeing also agreed to reduce the number of crewed flights to the space station. The original $4.2 billion contract NASA awarded Boeing in 2014 initially called for six crewed missions. But the contract change slashes the total number of missions to four, with the remaining two "available as options," NASA said.  

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The change comes after Boeing encountered issues with Starliner’s first crewed flight test last year. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams traveled on the capsule for an eight-day stay on the space station. But they were stuck there for over 9 months after the Starliner capsule experienced thruster issues. The astronauts were brought back to Earth on a SpaceX capsule. 

The cargo mission will allow NASA and Boeing to test system upgrades made to Starliner since its troubled test flight. The mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 2026. 

If the cargo mission is successful, Starliner could be used to fly up to three crewed missions to the space station, NASA said. 

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"NASA and Boeing are continuing to rigorously test the Starliner propulsion system in preparation for two potential flights next year," NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said in a statement. "This modification allows NASA and Boeing to focus on safely certifying the system in 2026, execute Starliner’s first crew rotation when ready, and align our ongoing flight planning for future Starliner missions based on station’s operational needs through 2030."

NASA is set to decommission the space station in 2030.