NASA said it is planning new missions using Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, the first since a troubled test flight left two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station for months.
Starliner was last flown in June 2024, when it carried US astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the station for what was meant to be an eight-to-14-day mission. The spacecraft's propulsion system ran into problems in orbit and it was judged unfit to fly them back, leaving them at the outpost for nine months before their return.
In a report on the test flight, NASA blamed engineering vulnerabilities in Starliner and classified the episode as a "Type A" mishap, the same category given to the deadly Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.
Boeing and NASA have worked to fix those issues in time for two upcoming Starliner missions. The spacecraft is set to play a key role in the agency's long-term goals.
