Starliner-1 timeline – NASA says the next uncrewed Boeing Starliner test mission to the International Space Station—originally targeted for April—has its timing placed “under review” as teams assess operational readiness and station traffic. The agency wants a second crew-capable ve
On the Florida coast, the question hanging over Boeing’s Starliner isn’t whether the spacecraft can reach orbit—it’s whether the next attempt will happen on schedule, and in what form.
NASA has put the timing of Starliner’s next uncrewed test mission to the International Space Station “under review.” The agency had previously pointed to April as the target window for that launch. but after April passed without liftoff. the plan now depends on when NASA determines the earliest feasible window based on readiness and how busy the space station’s schedule is.
Boeing’s Starliner story has already been reshaped by a setback that played out in public for months. Two years after its June 2024 maiden crewed mission. the capsule still hasn’t completed the kind of routine flight NASA hoped for. That first attempt ended with delays that forced the two astronauts to stay behind at the ISS longer than expected. before the Starliner returned to Earth without them and they later hitched a ride home on Boeing’s spaceflight competitor. SpaceX.
Now, NASA is betting Starliner can return to flight—just not with humans on board.
The Starliner vehicle NASA is trying to certify
Boeing designed and built Starliner to ferry astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station. The end goal is for NASA to certify Starliner as the second operational vehicle capable of reaching the ISS before the station is retired by 2030.
Missions would be contracted under NASA’s commercial crew program. under which NASA pays private companies to conduct orbital spaceflights using their own commercial vehicles. SpaceX has been providing those routine rides since 2020 using its Dragon capsule. Dragon capsules stand nearly 27 feet tall and about 13 feet wide. and they can carry up to seven astronauts into orbit. though most SpaceX Crew missions feature a crew of four.
Next uncrewed Starliner mission: timeline “under review”
Even after Starliner’s June 2024 crewed flight ended in failure, NASA continued working with Boeing toward certifying the vehicle.
NASA had previously announced it was working toward an April 2026 launch for Starliner’s next test flight, known as Starliner-1. But after that month came and went without a launch, NASA said the timeline for the mission is now “under review.”
NASA said it needed to revisit the target date because teams are still making improvements to the spacecraft. In a May 1 blog post. the agency said. “The agency is assessing operational readiness and space station traffic to determine the earliest feasible launch window.” When reached on May 28 for further details. a NASA spokesman had no additional information to add.
When Starliner-1 does launch, NASA plans to send the capsule to the ISS with cargo only—no astronauts aboard. The purpose is to carry out “in-flight validation of the system upgrades” implemented since the previous failed spaceflight, a goal NASA had described previously in November.
What happened on the last Boeing Starliner mission
In June 2024, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew to the International Space Station aboard Starliner. The spacecraft rode to orbit atop the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The astronauts were expected to remain aboard the orbital laboratory for up to 10 days. Instead, issues with the Starliner spacecraft delayed their return.
NASA ultimately decided the Starliner would undock and return to Earth without its crew. That left Wilmore and Williams needing another ride home.
They returned in March 2025 on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. That Dragon mission had reached the space station in September 2024 as Crew-9.
Design failures met leadership scrutiny
The fallout from the June 2024 mission did not end when the capsule landed empty. In February 2026. NASA released a report that focused on both technical and organizational problems—calling out not only design and engineering failures. but also “unprofessional behavior” leaders showed when debating how the troubled test mission should unfold.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman wrote directly to employees when announcing the report’s findings. posting the letter in full on social media platform X. In the letter. he wrote: “Starliner has design and engineering deficiencies that must be corrected. but the most troubling failure revealed by this investigation is not hardware.” He added. “It is decision making and leadership that. if left unchecked. could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight.”.
The human cost of the delay
Wilmore and Williams have since retired from NASA, making the botched Starliner mission their last as astronauts.
Wilmore was first to retire in August 2025. In a statement at the time, he reflected on a 25-year career and said his time in space revealed that “the magnificence of the cosmos mirrored the glory of its creator in ways words can scarcely convey.”
Williams announced her retirement from NASA in January 2026 after more than 27 years with the agency. She said, “anyone who knows me knows that space is my absolute favorite place to be.”
In the near term. NASA’s approach is clear: Starliner will come back first as an uncrewed test flight—another chance to validate upgrades without asking astronauts to ride through uncertainty. The spacecraft may fly again. but NASA’s “under review” language suggests the gap between engineering promises and launch timing is still being negotiated. one readiness checkpoint—and one station traffic calculation—at a time.
A relationship is taking shape across the timeline: a delayed return after the June 2024 mission. a subsequent switch to SpaceX for Crew-9’s ride home. and then NASA’s decision to prioritize system validation through cargo-only flight before risking another crew. With Starliner-1 now dependent on operational readiness and station scheduling. the question for Boeing and NASA isn’t only whether Starliner can launch—it’s whether it can launch when the system. the calendar. and the confidence all align.
For readers watching the U.S. space economy and its contracting pipeline, this is more than a schedule update. NASA’s goal remains to add a second commercial vehicle before the ISS is retired by 2030. and SpaceX has already been doing it. Starliner’s next attempt will be measured the hard way: not by plans on paper. but by whether the capsule can clear the window NASA is now assessing.
Boeing Starliner NASA ISS Starliner-1 commercial crew program SpaceX Crew-9 Atlas V Kennedy Space Center Jared Isaacman launch window spacecraft certification