NASA schedules Starliner briefing; a crew-flight date remains unannounced
NASA said on September 25 that it and Boeing will hold a news conference on Monday, September 28, at 3 p.m. Eastern time (19:00 UTC) to discuss Starliner's development and plans for regular flights carrying astronauts to the International Space Station. NASA's announcement names the speakers and a live viewing link. It does not announce a launch date, a completed certification, or a decision to put astronauts on Starliner's next flight.
That distinction matters because the next mission and the long-term crew service are separate steps. In its May station flight-plan update, NASA said the launch opportunity for Starliner-1, an uncrewed cargo mission, remained under review. Engineers were working through issues found during the 2024 crewed flight test and final actions from the program investigation. NASA said operational readiness and traffic at the station would determine the earliest feasible window.
What remains between cargo and crew
The Government Accountability Office's 2026 assessment describes the cargo flight as a step before Boeing's certification review. A successful operational flight could help validate changes made after the 2024 test, when thruster failures and helium leaks complicated the mission and the capsule returned without its crew. GAO reported that NASA and Boeing were still assessing readiness and launch opportunities when it completed its assessment. That report is background to Monday's briefing, not a claim about what NASA has decided since then.
NASA's inspector general said in June that Boeing had not yet obtained human-rating certification and that the next Starliner flight would carry cargo rather than astronauts. The watchdog estimated certification was unlikely before 2027. That is an oversight estimate, not a newly announced NASA schedule. The inspector general also identified a practical reason the timing matters: NASA needs enough contracted flights to crew the station through its planned 2030 retirement, and uncertainty around Starliner leaves it relying on another provider for current U.S. commercial crew rotations.
Monday's briefing may clarify the cargo-flight window, the remaining technical work, and NASA's path to crew certification. Until NASA gives those details, a briefing about regular crew flights should not be read as authorization for one. Koios.News will update this report when the agency publishes a substantive decision.