NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is blaming Boeing and his own agency for botching a test flight of the Starliner spacecraft, designed to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
A 311-page report details the issues that led to the failure of Starliner's first crewed test flight, which in June 2024 launched NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Florida.
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The duo's launch was initially a success — but as their Starliner spacecraft approached the station, multiple thrusters failed, hampering the crew's ability to steer toward the station and dock.
After months of deliberation, NASA and Boeing made the decision to send Starliner back to Earth without Wilmore and Williams on board. Instead, the astronauts remained on the space station and returned home 9 months later — in SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.
In a news conference Thursday, Isaacman said the report classified the failure as a Type A Mishap — the highest classification for a mission failure. The Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia accidents, along with the Apollo 1 fire, were also classified as a Type A Mishap. While those accidents resulted in the deaths of crewmembers, the Starliner mission was "ultimately successful in preserving crew safety," according to the report.
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The report identifies the thrusters as a key technical issue leading to the failure, although an investigation is still ongoing and a root cause has not yet been found.
"Starliner has design and engineering deficiencies that must be corrected," said Isaacman. "But the most troubling failure revealed by this investigation is not hardware. It's decision making and leadership that, if left unchecked, could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight."
He said those organizational and leadership problems were seen at both Boeing and NASA, Isaacman's own agency.
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The report identified an erosion of trust between the two organizations and leadership that was "overly risk-tolerant."
Isaacman said that the more than 30 launch attempts for this mission led to "cumulative schedule pressure and decision fatigue." When discussing whether to return Wilmore and WIlliams in Starliner, Isaacman said the "disagreements over crew return options deteriorated into unprofessional conduct while the crew remained on orbit."
Isaacman said there would be "leadership accountability," but didn't offer any details.
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"These are very complex programs, and complex programs like this fail in complex ways," said Don Platt, department head of aerospace engineering, physics and space science at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida. "Those organizational issues are oftentimes, maybe even more important than the technical problems that they're facing."
Such a public scolding of NASA and one of its contractors by its own leader is uncommon, says Platt, who worked on the construction of the space station.
"I think it's really setting the stage for sort of the new way that NASA plans to do business here in his administration," says Platt.
He says that could mean greater transparency and oversight over NASA's contractors
Despite NASA's plans to decommission the space station by the end of the decade, Isaacman says he is still committed to flying Starliner. That would leave NASA with two options, Boeing and SpaceX, to fly astronauts to the station — something SpaceX already does with regularity.
The report offered 61 formal recommendations ahead of the next crewed Starliner mission.
"We're grateful to NASA for its thorough investigation and the opportunity to contribute to it," Boeing said in an emailed statement. "We're working closely with NASA to ensure readiness for future Starliner missions and remain committed to NASA's vision for two commercial crew providers."
Transcript
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The head of NASA is blaming both Boeing and his own agency for the failed Starliner flight that left two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station for months. Brendan Byrne with Central Florida Public Media has more on the scathing report released nearly 18 months after the spacecraft returned to Earth.
BRENDAN BYRNE, BYLINE: The launch of Starliner carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from Florida's Space Coast in June 2024 was flawless.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: And liftoff of Starliner and Atlas V.
BYRNE: But that good fortune would soon run out. As the crew approached the space station, thrusters on their spacecraft - designed and built by Boeing - failed, making steering Starliner and docking it to the station difficult. Boeing and NASA decided it wasn't safe to return the crew and Starliner with thrusters malfunctioning. The spacecraft returned to Earth empty in November, and Wilmore and Williams extended their stay on the station, returning home in SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule in March 2025. And this week, NASA released a report detailing the issues.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JARED ISAACMAN: Starliner has design and engineering deficiencies that must be corrected.
BYRNE: NASA administrator Jared Isaacman says that includes the thrusters, and investigators are still working to figure out why they failed.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ISAACMAN: But the most troubling failure revealed by this investigation is not hardware. It's decision-making and leadership that, if left unchecked, could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight.
BYRNE: That culture, according to the report, includes examples of how leadership at both organizations were, quote, "overtly risk-tolerant" and suffered from decision fatigue. It found NASA and Boeing withheld information from one another.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ISAACMAN: This created a culture of mistrust that can never happen again, and there will be leadership accountability.
BYRNE: He called the incident a type A mishap, the highest classification for a mission failure and one that was designated to the deadly space shuttle Challenger and Columbia accidents. Such a public scolding of NASA and one of its contractors by its own leader is uncommon, says Don Platt, a professor at Florida Tech who worked on the construction of the space station.
DON PLATT: It's really setting the stage for sort of the new way that NASA plans to do business here in his administration.
BYRNE: He says that could mean greater transparency and oversight of NASA's contractors, and that oversight will start with Boeing. The NASA report outlined 61 recommendations before it will consider flying its astronauts in the Starliner capsule once again.
For NPR News, I'm Brendan Byrne in Orlando.