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NASA Labels Boeing Starliner Test a Type A Mishap, Cites Leadership and Propulsion Failures

The new report faults leadership culture alongside propulsion design, requiring fixes before Starliner carries crew again.

© NASA
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose on June 13, 2024 for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. On Saturday, August 24, mission controllers announced the pair will return to Earth in February aboard a SpaceX Dragon 9 crew capsule due to safety concerns. The Starliner capsule will return to Earth autonomously. Image via NASA
Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator, stands in front of a television light following an interview outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
NASA duo Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were stuck on the ISS for nine months

Overview

  • NASA released a roughly 300-page investigation on Feb. 19, 2026, retroactively classifying the 2024 crewed Starliner test as a Type A mishap, the agency’s most severe designation.
  • The probe details multiple helium leaks and five reaction control thruster failures that reduced maneuverability during ISS approach, with ground tests indicating overheated Teflon seals obstructed propellant flow.
  • Administrator Jared Isaacman said responsibility is shared by Boeing and NASA, citing risk-tolerant decisions, weak oversight and program advocacy, and he pledged leadership accountability.
  • Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remained on the ISS for about nine months and returned in March 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon after Starliner was brought back uncrewed in September 2024.
  • NASA will keep crews off Starliner until root causes are resolved and 61 recommendations are implemented, as Boeing and NASA continue thruster testing and prepare a cargo-only flight targeted for April 2026.