NASA's next Starliner flight is 'under review.' Here's what's going on - Yahoo News Canada

While the next test mission for Boeing's Starliner was originally targeted for April, the timeline is now "under review," according to NASA.

- Boeing's Starliner spacecraft may fly again after its troubled maiden crewed mission in June 2024.

- The previous mission left two astronauts waiting for months at the International Space Station, requiring a return trip on a SpaceX capsule.

- NASA and Boeing are planning another uncrewed test flight to the ISS, though the launch date is 'under review.'

- The two astronauts from the original Starliner flight, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, have since retired from NASA.

Two years since the now-infamous Starliner spacecraft launched on its maiden crewed mission, Boeing's troubled spacecraft could soon fly again.

The Starliner saga dominated headlines for months after its June 2024 launch when issues with the spacecraft prolonged the stay of the two astronauts who crewed it at the International Space Station. The developmental vehicle returned to Earth empty, while its crew remained behind at the orbital outpost before hitching a ride home in March 2025 with Boeing's SpaceX competitor.

Despite the botched mission, NASA has not yet given up hope on Boeing. Instead, the two entities have plowed ahead on plans to get the Starliner capsule off the ground once again as the U.S. space agency looks to add a second commercial vehicle to its roster capable of taking astronauts to space.

But next time, no humans will be aboard the Starliner when it's launched from Florida bound for the ISS.

While that mission was originally targeted for April, the timeline is now "under review," according to NASA. Here's everything to know about the Boeing Starliner, and when the spacecraft could launch on another NASA flight test.

What is the Boeing Starliner spacecraft?

Designed and built by aerospace contractor Boeing, the Starliner spacecraft is being developed to ferry both astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station.

The objective is for NASA to be able to certify Starliner as the second operational vehicle capable of reaching the ISS before the station is retired by 2030. The missions would be contracted under the U.S. space agency's commercial crew program, under which NASA pays private companies to conduct orbital spaceflights using their own commercial vehicles.

SpaceX has already been making routine trips since 2020 to the space station under the program using its Dragon capsule. Standing nearly 27 feet tall and about 13 feet wide, Dragon capsules can carry up to seven astronauts into orbit, though most of the SpaceX Crew missions feature a contingent of four.

Next uncrewed Starliner mission to ISS 'under review'

Even though the Starliner's maiden crewed flight in June 2024 ended in failure, NASA has continued to work with Boeing toward certifying the vehicle.

NASA had previously announced that it had been working toward an April 2026 launch of Starliner's next test flight, a mission without a crew known as Starliner-1. But after April came and went without the vehicle getting off the ground, the agency is now indicating that the timeline for that mission is " under review."

Revising the target launch date became necessary as teams continue to make improvements to the vehicle, according to NASA.

"The agency is assessing operational readiness and space station traffic to determine the earliest feasible launch window," NASA said in a May 1 blog post. A NASA spokesman had no additional information to add when reached May 28 by the USA TODAY Network.

When the mission does launch, NASA will forgo transporting astronauts and instead send the spacecraft to the International Space Station with nothing but cargo. The purpose, as NASA previously explained in November, is to conduct "in-flight validation of the system upgrades" implemented since the previous failed spaceflight.

What happened with the last Boeing Starliner mission?

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams rode to the space station in June 2024 aboard the Starliner, which hitched a ride atop the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.