The Starliner Fiasco Was A Lot Worse Than NASA Made It Sound

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What was meant to be a triumphant crewed test flight for Boeing⁘s Starliner spacecraft nearly became a catastrophe. And new revelations from NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams show the mission, which launched in June 2024, faced far more serious issues than the agency initially let on.

⁘I don⁘t know that we can come back to Earth at that point,⁘ Wilmore admitted to Ars , recalling a moment mid-mission when the crew realized they were down to a single layer of fault tolerance. ⁘I don⁘t know if we can. And matter of fact, I⁘m thinking we probably can⁘t.⁘

With four out of 28 critical reaction control thrusters offline, one more failure would have left them unable to control the spacecraft⁘s movement at all⁘a dangerous bid for a spacecraft approaching a space station with other occupants aboard it.

However, according to Wilmore, NASA overrode Starliner⁘s flight rules and didn⁘t tell the astronauts about this right away. The agency had, supposedly, begun waiving established safety protocols to continue with docking procedures, even as the crew manually controlled a sluggish and unresponsive spacecraft in orbit.

These Starliner problems weren⁘t just isolated to docking, either. The mission was originally planned for a week but stretched into nine months as further issues delayed the capsule⁘s return trip. The astronauts eventually came back aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, while the Starliner was sent home empty in September⁘a decision that reportedly sparked outrage from Boeing execs when NASA first made it.

Boeing⁘s Starliner program was already years behind schedule when it launched in 2024. Not to mention it was billions over budget. In light of these new discoveries, though, it now faces increased scrutiny. NASA and Boeing say they⁘re working through the spacecraft⁘s in-flight anomalies and hope to attempt another crewed mission no earlier than late 2025. But after this flight⁘s close call, confidence in the Boeing-built spacecraft is shakier than ever.