An investigation into the failed crewed testflight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft highlighted multiple issues with the mission – including hardware failures and concerns with program leadership. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman released the findings Thursday of a 311-page report into the incident, which the agency is calling a type A mishap – the highest classification of a mission failure.
The Starliner mission launched June 2024 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams. Their launch was a success, but issues cropped up during their approach to the International Space Station. Multiple thrusters on the vehicle failed, reducing the crew’s ability to control the spacecraft as it docked to the station.
NASA and Boeing made the decision to return Starliner without a crew. Willmore and Williams returned home in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule instead.
The report outlined those thruster issues as a key technical anomaly during the mission. Isaacman said the root cause of the failure is still unknown.
“NASA will not fly another crew on Starliner until technical causes are understood and corrected, the propulsion system is fully qualified and appropriate [and] investigation recommendations are implemented,” he said.
An investigation into the thrusters is ongoing.
The report also outlined concerns with leadership at both NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and Boeing, identified an erosion of trust between the two organizations and leadership that was “overly risk-tolerant.”
Isaacman said that the more than 30 launch attempts of the CFT-1 mission led to “cumulative schedule pressure and decision fatigue.” When discussing whether to return Wilmore and Williams in Starliner, Isaacman said the “disagreements over crew return options deteriorated into unprofessional conduct while the crew remained on orbit.”
Isaacman said there would be "leadership accountability.”
With Boeing’s Starliner grounded, SpaceX’s Starliner is the only U.S. transportation provider that can take astronauts to and from the space station.
Boeing initially was awarded $4.2 billion to develop a crew transportation system. SpaceX was also selected with a contract of just $2.6 billion. SpaceX has launched 12 operational missions to the space station for NASA since then.
NASA plans to decommission the space station at the end of the decade. Still, the agency is hoping to have two transportation options – Boeing and SpaceX.
Boeing and NASA will continue to investigate the root cause of the thruster issue.
“We’re grateful to NASA for its thorough investigation and the opportunity to contribute to it,” Boeing said in an emailed statement. “We’re working closely with NASA to ensure readiness for future Starliner missions and remain committed to NASA’s vision for two commercial crew providers.”
