2024 has shaped up to be a disastrous year for Boeing, with the aerospace giant facing a barrage of setbacks. From airplane malfunctions to worker strikes, the company’s reputation has taken a significant hit. But perhaps the most high-profile misstep has come from Boeing’s troubled spacecraft, the Starliner, which has yet to earn its NASA certification after a series of issues, including a failed mission that left two astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The Starliner, Boeing’s entry into NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, was intended to carry astronauts to the ISS as part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. But things have not gone as planned. NASA has now decided to ground the Starliner, opting instead to rely on SpaceX’s more reliable Crew Dragon for upcoming missions while Boeing addresses the technical problems plaguing its spacecraft.
The situation reached its breaking point following a catastrophic crewed mission in June 2024. The Starliner was launched with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams aboard for what was supposed to be an eight-day mission. Instead, the spacecraft remained docked at the ISS for three months due to numerous mechanical failures. NASA ultimately decided to bring the astronauts home aboard SpaceX’s Dragon, abandoning the Starliner in space.
According to Gizmodo, NASA has announced that Crew-10 and Crew-11 missions, scheduled for February and July 2025, will both use SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. This further delays any hope of Starliner being certified to transport crew to the ISS. NASA had initially hoped Boeing’s spacecraft would be ready for its first operational mission in early 2025, but that dream is now far from reality. The agency has said that Starliner’s next flight—possibly in 2025—will depend on whether Boeing can resolve its numerous issues.
“The timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established,” NASA said in a statement. The agency will take into account lessons learned from the failed mission and evaluate Starliner’s operational readiness before deciding on the spacecraft’s future.
Boeing’s problems became apparent soon after the Starliner launched to the ISS on June 5, 2024. During the mission, five of the spacecraft’s thrusters failed, and it developed helium leaks. One of these leaks had already been identified prior to liftoff, raising serious questions about Boeing’s quality control. Ground teams spent weeks analyzing the situation, trying to determine whether it would be safe to return the crew aboard Starliner. Ultimately, they decided against it, opting instead to bring Wilmore and Williams back on a SpaceX Crew Dragon in February 2025, eight months after they initially launched.
This latest incident is just one of many setbacks for Boeing, which has struggled to meet the terms of its $4.3 billion contract with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The Starliner was first conceived in 2010, with Boeing leaning on its extensive experience building spacecraft for the Apollo project. However, delays, technical failures, and poor performance have tarnished Boeing’s legacy and caused the Starliner program to lag far behind its competitor, SpaceX.
In 2014, NASA awarded contracts to both Boeing and SpaceX to develop spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts to the ISS. At the time, Boeing was seen as the more experienced player, while SpaceX was a newcomer with much to prove. But in the years since, SpaceX has exceeded expectations, launching nine successful crewed missions to the ISS. Meanwhile, Boeing has yet to complete even a single certified flight.
The Starliner program’s problems date back to its initial test flight in 2019, which ended in failure. Although the spacecraft did reach space, it miscalculated its location due to a faulty mission timer and burned excess fuel. As a result, it never reached the ISS, forcing Boeing to schedule a second unmanned test flight in 2021. That mission fared better, but technical issues still persisted.
Despite these failures, NASA allowed Boeing to proceed with a crewed test flight in 2024. The hope was that Starliner would finally be ready to transport astronauts on a regular basis, but those hopes have since been dashed. NASA’s decision to continue grounding the spacecraft has left Boeing scrambling to fix the issues and regain the trust of the space agency.
The need for a reliable U.S.-made spacecraft became more urgent after NASA retired its Space Shuttle program in 2011, forcing the agency to rely on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. NASA invested heavily in private aerospace companies like Boeing and SpaceX to develop new crew transport vehicles, but only SpaceX has delivered on those promises.
Boeing, for its part, is now facing a long and uncertain road ahead. The company must address the Starliner’s numerous technical problems if it hopes to meet NASA’s safety standards and win back the agency’s confidence. But with SpaceX firmly established as the leader in private spaceflight, Boeing will need more than just repairs—it will need to rebuild its tarnished reputation. For now, NASA is playing it safe by sticking with SpaceX, while Boeing’s Starliner remains grounded indefinitely.