NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman backed Boeing Co.’s (NYSE:BA) Starliner program Monday, arguing that reviving the troubled capsule remains the quickest way to preserve a second U.S. crew-transport option as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) eventually shifts its focus from Dragon to Starship.

NASA Maps Starliner’s Path Back To Flight

"Given our extensive history with Starliner and the taxpayer investment already made, we believe it represents the fastest path to preserving reliable crewed access to low Earth orbit," Isaacman said in a press release on Monday.

NASA said Starliner-1 could fly cargo to the International Space Station as early as December 2026 or January 2027, while the first post-mishap crewed flight, Starliner-2, is targeted for 2028. Reuters notes that Isaacman, at a briefing on Monday, said Starliner could eventually fly up to five crewed NASA missions.

Boeing Still Faces Major Certification Hurdles

NASA and Boeing still face substantial certification work. The agency’s investigation into the 2024 Crew Flight Test produced 61 recommendations and found that service-module thrusters operated outside their engineering qualification. Boeing has made thermal modifications and addressed the helium leaks, while NASA and Boeing plan an additional thruster-valve redesign before astronauts return. NASA will also work with Boeing and United Launch Alliance to certify Vulcan after Atlas V retires.

The comeback is expected to cost NASA another $359 million for upgrades and rocket certification, the Associated Press reported. "We always were committed to seeing this through with Boeing," Isaacman said, "and now we’re on a very good path."

Starliner’s 2024 test flight launched Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams for an eight-to-14-day mission. Helium leaks and propulsion problems instead prompted NASA to return Starliner empty after 93 days; the astronauts returned aboard SpaceX Crew-9 in March 2025. NASA later classified the episode as a Type A mishap, its highest-level classification.

SpaceX Remains NASA’s Near-Term Crew Backbone

NASA still wants two independent U.S. crew systems. Earlier this month, the agency added three Crew Dragon missions worth $946 million, taking SpaceX’s Commercial Crew total to 17 operational missions and $5.92 billion through 2030.

That award extends NASA’s near-term reliance on SpaceX while Boeing works to restore Starliner before the ISS ends operations around 2030, a dynamic that has already shifted additional crew missions toward SpaceX as Boeing works through delays.

Price Action: Boeing shares were trading 0.09% higher at $184.55 in pre-market trading on Tuesday.

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