NASA announced Monday it will buy two more crewed flights on Boeing's Starliner and pay the company to get the vehicle back to flight and onto a new rocket — effectively naming Boeing the likely sole US provider of astronaut transportation once SpaceX steps back from Falcon and Dragon.
Administrator Jared Isaacman was blunt about why. "I do not think it's a secret that SpaceX intends to sunset older platforms like Falcon and Dragon as they concentrate on their next-generation capability, Starship," he said. Dragon has flown NASA crews for more than six years; the agency expects it to retire by or before 2030, while it weighs extending the ISS to 2032 and backs commercial LEO destinations (CLDs) that will need rides.
Starliner, by contrast, has struggled. Uncrewed test flights in 2019 and 2022 hit numerous issues, and in June 2024 thruster problems nearly cost two astronauts their lives on the first crewed test flight. The program has run more than $2 billion in losses for Boeing, and NASA has already paid $5.1 billion under the fixed-price Commercial Crew contract — enough that the agency worried Boeing might walk away.
The new money: $359 million to help Boeing rebuild the reaction control system thrusters that overheated in flight and to certify United Launch Alliance's Vulcan for human missions, replacing the retiring Atlas V.
NASA is ordering two additional crewed Starliner missions, bringing the total to six. An uncrewed demonstration, Starliner-1, could launch in December 2026 or January 2027; the first crewed flight, Starliner-2, could fly mid-2028 with veteran Woody Hoburg in command. NASA and Boeing have agreed to roughly $90 million per seat for Starliner-2 through -6.
Critics have argued NASA should fund a second crew competition including Blue Origin's in-development space vehicle, but Isaacman seemed reluctant, noting future demand of just two seats every six to nine months. And Boeing has left one question open: it would not commit to 2030s seat prices for CLD providers. "We couldn't provide detailed pricing to the CLD suppliers as the Vulcan rocket has not been certified… and we don't have detailed pricing on the Vulcan," said John Mulholland, Boeing's Commercial Crew program manager. Boeing remains "incredibly excited," he added.
