tech
December 23, 2025
Safety panel says NASA should have taken Starliner incident more seriously
“This particular anomaly deserves to be right up front and center for quite some time.”
TL;DR
- Boeing's Starliner spacecraft experienced significant thruster and helium leak problems on its first crewed flight to the ISS.
- Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were delayed for nine months due to safety concerns before returning on a SpaceX Dragon.
- A NASA safety panel criticized the agency for not formally declaring the Starliner's issues as an in-flight "mishap" or "high visibility close call."
- This lack of formal declaration led to confusion about risk ownership and decision-making, causing stress on the workforce.
- The safety panel recommended NASA clarify its criteria for declaring such incidents to improve future investigations and lessons learned.
- Starliner's next mission will be a cargo-only flight to the ISS.
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