NASA Orders Two More Starliner Flights

Starliner will fly more NASA crews, and NASA is paying to keep it alive.

NASA made a move on Monday. It'll exercise contract options to buy two more crewed flights on Boeing's Starliner. So the vehicle's total booked missions for the agency now climbs to six, and that commits fresh money to a program that has already burned through more than $2 billion in company losses, a sum that keeps growing while the spacecraft still isn't flying crews on a regular schedule. But that's the deal.

The space agency also said it will pay Boeing $359 million to help finish a rebuild of the reaction control system thrusters that overheated in flight, and to certify United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket for human missions. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman framed the move as a bet on the only near-term option available.

Why NASA Had to Say Yes

The arithmetic here is unforgiving. SpaceX's Crew Dragon has carried NASA astronauts to orbit for more than six years without a serious failure. But the company intends to sunset older platforms like Falcon and Dragon as it pours resources into Starship. That leaves a hole in American crew transportation, and NASA needs somebody to fill it.

"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," Isaacman said during a news conference Monday afternoon.

With Dragon likely retired by or before 2030, NASA is weighing an extension of the International Space Station's lifetime to 2032 while simultaneously backing private orbital outposts known as commercial LEO destinations, or CLDs. Astronauts will need rides to all of it. Starliner, whatever its record, is the vehicle closest to certified service.

A Program That Keeps Stumbling

Boeing's path to this point has been ugly. Starliner ran into serious problems on uncrewed test flights in 2019 and 2022. The worst moment came in June 2024, when thruster issues during the spacecraft's first crew test flight nearly caused the catastrophic loss of two astronauts.

Those failures pushed the program to the brink. There was open discussion inside the industry that Boeing might walk away entirely, and the fact that NASA felt obliged to commit additional funding suggests that outcome was live. The agency has already handed Boeing $5.1 billion under the fixed price Commercial Crew program. Adding $359 million on top of that is not a vote of quiet confidence. It is a rescue payment with a flight manifest attached.

"We're incredibly excited about the partnership with NASA," said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Commercial Crew at Boeing. "To continue to fly to the International Space Station, and then obviously, with the Vulcan certification, missions beyond the current six that we have."

What the Schedule Actually Looks Like

None of this happens quickly. NASA has manifested an uncrewed demonstration flight, Starliner-1, that could launch in December 2026 or January 2027. Three crewed missions are already under contract, with the first of them, Starliner-2, potentially flying in mid-2028. Veteran astronaut Woody Hoburg will command that mission.

Two new flights. That pushes the total to six. For Starliner-2 through Starliner-6, NASA and Boeing have agreed to a price of roughly $90 million per seat, a figure that holds steady across those five missions even as the program moves forward, and it's the number both sides keep pointing to when they're asked what each astronaut's ride will cost. And they don't break it down further. We've got the facts, and that's what they are.

But that number comes with an asterisk the size of a launch pad. This summer, while negotiating with CLD providers, Boeing would not commit to seat prices in the 2030s. It's a big caveat. And that's the thing: they're talking now, they've got providers at the table, but they can't or won't say what a seat will cost in the 2030s, which means the number you see today might not hold.

We couldn't provide detailed pricing to the CLD suppliers. The Vulcan rocket hasn't been certified. The spacecraft hasn't been certified either. And we don't have detailed pricing on the Vulcan, Mulholland said, explaining that this situation, shaped by certifications that haven't yet happened and pricing details that still aren't available, is simply where things stand right now. That will come in the future. And obviously we want to be as competitive as possible.

The Monopoly Nobody Asked For

Boeing will compete against Boeing. That is the strange reality of American crewed spaceflight in the 2030s. Once Dragon exits, Starliner could hold a monopoly on ferrying NASA astronauts to low-Earth orbit, at least for a stretch. A single provider with a troubled track record and no pricing commitments beyond the current contract is not an ideal market.

• NASA's existing investment in Boeing through Commercial Crew: $5.1 billion
• Additional funding for thruster rebuild and Vulcan certification: $359 million
• Agreed seat price for Starliner-2 through Starliner-6: approximately $90 million

Critics have floated a second crew competition. It's an idea. Boeing would come in. So would Blue Origin, with its under-development space vehicle, and possibly others such as The Exploration Company, though nobody has said for certain who else might join a field that critics say could widen the race. Isaacman seemed reluctant to sign off on that, noting the likely cost would run into the billions.

He pointed out that NASA's future demand for astronaut flights to low-Earth orbit amounts to two seats every six to nine months. That is a thin market. Splitting it across multiple competitors would be hard to justify on pure volume.

The agency's logic is simple enough. The nation has already sunk enormous sums into Starliner. The vehicle is close to ready. Walking away now would waste the investment, and NASA would still need a ride.

Execution Is the Whole Ballgame

All of this depends on Boeing delivering something it has not delivered yet. The thruster rebuild has to work. Vulcan has to be certified for humans. The spacecraft itself has to earn certification. Each of those steps is a gate, and the program has stumbled at gates before.

The enthusiasm from Boeing's side is real. At least in public. Mulholland's comments about serving as the nation's crew transportation provider carry the weight of a company that sees a rare opening. But whether that opening becomes a reliable service or another cautionary tale depends on engineering that has not yet proven itself. It's that simple.

For now, NASA has made its call. Starliner flies, and the agency pays to make sure it can.