Despite successfully landing in a New Mexico desert after an uncrewed test flight in September 2022, the Starliner faced multiple thruster failures that have delayed future flights.

As of March 2025, NASA reports that over 70% of flight observations and anomalies related to the Starliner have been addressed, although significant propulsion system issues remain unresolved.

Boeing's Starliner astronaut capsule is facing uncertainty over its future following a problematic Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission that concluded on September 6, 2023.

Current efforts focus on resolving thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, with NASA and Boeing analyzing postflight data to investigate the propulsion system anomalies encountered during the flight.

NASA and Boeing are still determining whether the next flight of the Starliner spacecraft will carry astronauts or cargo, pending certification work expected to be completed by late 2025.

Boeing has incurred losses exceeding $2 billion on its fixed-price contract with NASA but remains committed to completing the Starliner certification process.

With the ISS scheduled for retirement in 2030, Boeing is running out of time to make a significant impact on crew flights, with only four to five crewed missions potentially remaining.

Upcoming test campaigns planned for spring and summer 2025 will focus on firing key thrusters to assess improvements and validate thermal models.

As of now, NASA has granted Boeing 'Authority To Proceed' for three of six potential operational Starliner missions, while SpaceX has already completed 10 operational crew missions.

The CFT mission, which launched on June 5, 2023, encountered propulsion system issues during its journey to the International Space Station (ISS), leading to significant problems including helium leaks and the failure of five of its 28 reaction control system thrusters.

NASA and Boeing have made progress in diagnosing the Starliner issues, managing to reactivate four of the failed thrusters while the spacecraft was in orbit.

Details regarding who will cover the costs of the next flight remain unclear, as both NASA and Boeing have deferred specific information to each other.