NASA Blames Boeing, Agency Leaders for Botched Starliner Test Flight

Administrator Jared Isaacman called for a culture of ownership, accountability, and transparency.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which launched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station, docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on July 3, 2024. NASA via AP

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman criticized Boeing and leaders in his own agency on Feb. 19 for their role in the near-failed crew flight of the Starliner spacecraft that left two astronauts on the International Space Station for more than 9 months.

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is one of several commercial crew and cargo spacecraft in development to further expand access to space. However, it has only flown three times, and only once with a crew on board, due to multiple instrumentation issues, including helium leaks that kept the crewed flight delayed, and thruster failures mid-flight.