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At a news conference on Thursday, NASA launched a portray of findings from the Program Investigation Crew inspecting the Boeing CST-100 Starliner Crewed Flight Check as section of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.  

“The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has confronted challenges all the device by its uncrewed and most modern crewed missions. While Boeing built Starliner, NASA licensed it and launched two astronauts to construct. The technical difficulties encountered all the device by docking with the World Spot Enviornment were very obvious,” talked about NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.  

“To undertake missions that trade the realm, we would also restful be clear about both our successes and our shortcomings. We want to beget our mistakes and make definite they by no formula happen again. Previous technical elements, it is definite that NASA popular overarching programmatic targets of having two suppliers succesful of transporting astronauts to-and-from orbit, influence engineering and operational decisions, seriously all the device by and straight away after the mission. We are correcting those mistakes. This day, we are formally declaring a Model A mishap and ensuring leadership accountability so scenarios indulge in this by no formula reoccur. We see forward to working with Boeing as both organizations put into effect corrective actions and return Starliner to flight only when ready.” 

Starliner launched June 5, 2024, on its first crewed take a look at flight to the World Spot Enviornment. Initially planned as an eight-to-14-day mission, the flight used to be prolonged to 93 days after propulsion machine anomalies were identified whereas the spacecraft used to be in orbit. After reviewing flight files and conducting floor take a look at at White Sands Check Facility, NASA determined to attain aid the spacecraft without NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Starliner returned from the build web page in September 2024, landing at White Sands Spot Harbor in New Mexico. Wilmore and Williams later returned safely to Earth aboard the agency’s SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in March 2025. 

In February 2025, NASA chartered an impartial Program Investigation Crew to analyze the technical, organizational, and cultural contributors to the take a look at flight elements.  

This portray used to be executed in November 2025. NASA and Boeing were working together since Starliner returned 18 months within the past to identify and take care of the challenges encountered all the device by the mission, and the technical root reason work continues. 

Investigators identified an interplay of blended hardware screw ups, qualification gaps, leadership missteps, and cultural breakdowns that created possibility conditions inconsistent with NASA’s human spaceflight safety requirements. NASA will receive this as the closing portray.  

In consequence, NASA is taking corrective actions to take care of the findings of the portray, so that you just can guarantee the classes learned contribute to crew and mission safety of future Starliner flights and all NASA packages. Attributable to the loss of the spacecraft’s maneuverability as the crew approached the build web page and the related monetary damages incurred, NASA has classified the take a look at flight as a Model A mishap. While there were no accidents and the mission regained regulate outdated to docking, this absolute most realistic-stage classification designation recognizes there used to be skill for a gigantic mishap. 

NASA will continue to work carefully with Boeing to fully realize and solve the technical challenges with the Starliner automobile alongside incorporating the investigative solutions outdated to flying the next mission.  

For the tubby portray, which comprises redactions in coordination with our commercial accomplice to guard proprietary and privacy-sensitive materials is on hand on-line. A 508-compliant model of the portray is drawing near near, and would possibly perhaps per chance also very successfully be posted on this web page. NASA will replace with an editor’s narrate when complete.

https://www.nasa.gov/wp-protest material/uploads/2026/02/nasa-portray-with-redactions-021926.pdf?emrc=76e561

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Bethany Stevens / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov