Overview
- The NASA Office of Inspector General released the audit on June 30 that identifies three persistent technical problems—helium leaks, propulsion/thruster failures, and parachute anomalies—that have blocked Boeing’s Starliner from gaining human-rating certification.
- The audit says the helium and propulsion issues remained unresolved as of March 2026 and notes that Boeing has converted the next Starliner mission to an uncrewed cargo flight with no launch date set.
- Inspectors attribute the program’s failures to overconfidence in Boeing’s heritage systems, unrealistic schedules accepted by NASA, and limits on NASA’s access to flight-simulation data that hindered oversight and testing.
- NASA has already paid SpaceX $17 million to accelerate Crew Dragon flights and the audit says the agency will need to buy additional Dragon missions to ensure crew rotation to the ISS through 2030.
- The report warns that a likely slip of certification into 2027 will compress the window for Starliner to serve astronauts before the planned 2030 ISS retirement and increase schedule, cost, and staffing pressure on NASA and Boeing.