NASA will announce plans to order two additional crewed missions on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft and provide financial support to fix its thruster problems and certify it on a new rocket. This move comes as SpaceX has privately indicated—and is now publicly confirming—its intention to retire its Crew Dragon spacecraft by 2030, leaving NASA without a backup provider for astronaut missions to low Earth orbit. The decision represents a dramatic reversal for Starliner, which has experienced a deeply troubled development and flight history.

Boeing has received $5.1 billion from NASA for Starliner development, compared to SpaceX's $3.1 billion for Crew Dragon. Whilst SpaceX has successfully completed 13 crewed missions to the International Space Station with a perfect safety record, Boeing has struggled significantly with Starliner. The spacecraft experienced critical thruster failures during its first crewed test flight in June 2024 that nearly resulted in the deaths of two astronauts—Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—who had to return to Earth on a Crew Dragon instead. NASA's investigation identified not only design deficiencies but also concerning failures in decision-making and leadership at both Boeing and NASA.