NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has sharply criticized Boeing and agency leadership for the mishandling of the Starliner spacecraft mission. The botched mission resulted in two astronauts being stranded on the International Space Station for nearly a year.
A comprehensive report detailed technical and oversight failures plaguing Starliner's 2024 crewed flight. This high-profile mission left astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the ISS for nine months, far exceeding the mission's initial one-week duration.
Nelson stated that while Starliner has design and engineering issues requiring correction, the most significant failure identified was not hardware-related, but rather a breakdown in decision-making and leadership. He warned that unchecked, this could foster a culture unsuitable for human spaceflight.
The Starliner mission has been classified by NASA as a 'Type A' mishap, its most severe category. Boeing has invested tens of millions of dollars in rectifying Starliner's issues. Wilmore and Williams eventually returned safely to Earth aboard a SpaceX craft after their malfunctioning Starliner capsule returned empty.
Nelson emphasized the need to communicate the correct protocols for handling such situations to prevent recurrence. The report, finalized in November, highlighted four known technical anomalies, including propulsion system glitches that hampered Starliner's docking with the ISS.