NASA Plans Unpiloted Starliner Test Flight at End of Year: New Window, 2028 Crew Target, and What Went Wrong

NASA and Boeing are preparing to send the CST-100 Starliner back to the International Space Station without astronauts aboard, according to public reporting and social media posts from spaceflight watchers. The latest plan points to an unpiloted test flight at the end of the year or in the opening weeks of the next year. If that mission succeeds, astronauts would not return to Starliner until roughly mid-2028 Source 1 Source 5.

The schedule marks the next step in a troubled effort to certify Boeing’s capsule for regular NASA crew rotation flights. It also preserves a goal NASA has maintained for years: two independent U.S. crew vehicles capable of reaching the station Source 1.

Key takeaways:

• NASA wants an unpiloted Starliner test flight in a December 2026–January 2027 window.
• A crewed Starliner flight would follow around mid-2028.
• The new test comes after thruster and helium anomalies during the 2024 Crew Flight Test.
• Starliner is not yet certified for regular NASA crew missions.
• Critics argue the current plan is not the best use of time or money Source 3.

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The new Starliner decision at a glance

An X post by @mars_atlas, published on September 29, 2026, said NASA plans an unpiloted Starliner test flight at the end of the year. The post linked to additional details at https://t.co/P6iSaSeTMY Source 7.

A separate post from @miya_space described the timeline more narrowly: an uncrewed Starliner test flight in late 2026, followed by a crewed Starliner flight in mid-2028 if the uncrewed flight succeeds Source 5.

The Hawking Center summarized the plan as a winter test, covering a December–January window, and said astronauts are not expected back aboard Starliner until about mid-2028 because of the 2024 thruster problems. The same post emphasized that having two U.S. crew vehicles keeps station access resilient Source 1.

The reporting trail ultimately points to Spaceflight Now as an underlying source. A post from @nojiri_h linked to Spaceflight Now’s reporting on the year-end uncrewed test Source 9.

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What NASA and Boeing are planning

December 2026–January 2027 uncrewed flight

The immediate milestone is an unpiloted Starliner flight to the International Space Station. The sources use slightly different language: one says “end of the year,” another says “late 2026,” and another gives a winter window of December–January Source 7 Source 5 Source 1.

The wider December 2026–January 2027 window appears in a critical assessment from Dr. Joel P. Rutkowski, who also ties the crewed return target to mid-2028 Source 3. That window is narrow enough that international spaceflight watchers are treating it as the next major Starliner test.

An uncrewed flight means no NASA astronauts will be aboard. The mission is expected to test the systems that failed or behaved unexpectedly during the 2024 crew test flight, particularly the service module propulsion and pressurization systems.

Mid-2028 crewed return

If the uncrewed mission succeeds, NASA would target a crewed Starliner flight around mid-2028 Source 5. The critical assessment identified NASA astronaut Warren Hoburg as the crew member associated with that return target Source 3.

That would be almost four years after the 2024 Crew Flight Test, which launched with two astronauts but returned without them aboard Starliner because of safety concerns.

Mission objectives and certification path

NASA has not yet certified Starliner for routine crew rotation flights. A successful unpiloted mission would likely be a precondition for the next crewed test or an operational flight. The target is to close the propulsion, helium, and flight-readiness gaps identified after the 2024 mission.

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Why another uncrewed flight?

2024 Crew Flight Test anomalies

The 2024 Crew Flight Test experienced thruster problems and helium leaks during approach to the International Space Station. Those issues caused NASA to change the return plan and bring Starliner home without its crew Source 1 Source 3.

The anomalies were serious enough to trigger a high-severity NASA mishap review. The critical assessment cited the 2024 Crew Flight Test as a “Type A” mishap, a classification used for high-visibility safety events Source 3.

Type A mishap classification

In NASA’s internal system, a Type A mishap is among the most serious categories. It typically requires a formal investigation, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions before the vehicle can fly again. The classification of the 2024 Crew Flight Test as a Type A mishap explains why another uncrewed flight was considered necessary rather than moving directly to a crewed mission Source 3.

Astronauts return on Dragon

Starliner launched with two crew members, but its problems left them without a Starliner return option. The astronauts ultimately returned on a SpaceX Dragon after 286 days in orbit Source 3.

That outcome underscored the value of having a second crew provider. It also showed the operational reality NASA was trying to avoid when the Commercial Crew program sought two independent systems.

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A 16-year program and the comparison to Apollo

Starliner has been in development for about 16 years, according to an X post from @nojiri_h. The post noted that the program is still alive despite a difficult flight history: three past flights described as ending in partial failure, partial failure, and an accident Source 9.

The same post drew a sharp contrast with Apollo. NASA’s Apollo program went from President John F. Kennedy’s speech to a crewed lunar landing in about eight years and cost three astronaut lives along the way Source 9.

The comparison is not perfectly symmetrical — Apollo was a national priority with far larger budgets and different goals — but it frames the criticism that Starliner has taken too long relative to the safety and schedule burden placed on NASA.

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Why NASA still wants two crew transportation providers

NASA has repeatedly said that two U.S. crew vehicles keep station access resilient Source 1.

A single provider creates a single point of failure. If that vehicle is grounded for a propulsion, parachute, or thermal issue, NASA loses independent access to the station. The 2024 Starliner problems demonstrated exactly this problem in reverse: SpaceX’s Dragon was available because the other provider’s vehicle could not return crew safely.

Maintaining both Starliner and Dragon gives NASA:

• Redundant launch and return capability.
• Competition for contract task orders.
• The ability to continue crew rotation if one system is grounded.
• Continued support for a six-month crewed presence aboard the station.

The commercial crew strategy also separates crew transport from a single government-owned rocket or capsule, which was the post-Space Shuttle gap NASA wanted to close.

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Cost, certification, and oversight

The Starliner program has drawn scrutiny over cost and contracting. The critical assessment cited the Commercial Crew contract values: about $4.2 billion for Boeing’s Starliner compared with about $2.6 billion for SpaceX’s Dragon Source 3.

SpaceX has been certified for NASA crew operations since 2020. Starliner remains uncertified Source 3.

The same post cited a cumulative program figure of about $9.8 billion, roughly $2 billion in Boeing charges or losses, and about $127.9 million in questioned costs Source 3. These figures reflect the public debate about whether Starliner’s cost growth and delays have eroded the original fixed-price logic of the Commercial Crew program.

Boeing has already absorbed significant financial losses on Starliner. Continued testing adds more expense, but abandoning the program would leave NASA with only one U.S. crew provider. The current plan is therefore an attempt to preserve redundancy while continuing to address safety and flight-readiness findings.

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Critics: “The plan is not best”

One critical post argued bluntly that the current plan is not best. The assessment acknowledged that NASA and Boeing plan an uncrewed flight in December