NASA has publicly classified the failed 2024 Boeing Starliner mission as a "Type A" mishap, placing it among the most severe incidents in the agency's history. The announcement, made on February 20, 2026, follows the release of a damning 312-page internal report that spares neither NASA nor Boeing from blame. The mission, intended as a routine 10-day test flight to the International Space Station (ISS), instead left astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore stranded in orbit for more than nine months—a saga that captured headlines, drew political fire, and forced both organizations into a rare moment of public self-reckoning.
The Starliner capsule, developed by Boeing as part of NASA's commercial crew program, launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Kennedy Space Center on June 5, 2024. Williams and Wilmore, both seasoned NASA astronauts, docked with the ISS the following day. But what was supposed to be a brief stay quickly turned into a protracted ordeal after multiple thruster failures crippled the spacecraft’s ability to safely return to Earth.
According to BBC News, NASA’s "Type A" mishap designation is reserved for incidents resulting in more than $2 million in damage, loss of a vehicle or its control, or fatalities. The Starliner incident, while not resulting in any injuries or loss of life, did cause significant damage and exposed the crew to severe risk. Jared Isaacman, NASA’s newly appointed administrator, did not mince words at a news conference on February 19, 2026. "We are correcting those mistakes. Today, we are formally declaring a Type A mishap and ensuring leadership accountability so situations like this never reoccur," Isaacman stated, as reported by USA Today.
The internal NASA report, running over 300 pages, revealed a cascade of failures: technical defects in the Starliner’s thrusters, poor engineering, inadequate oversight, and, perhaps most damning, a breakdown in leadership and culture at both Boeing and NASA. Investigators found that "defensive, unhealthy, contentious meetings during technical disagreements early in the mission" led to flawed decision-making. Isaacman pointed to "overly risk-tolerant" leadership and even "unprofessional conduct while the crew remained on orbit." The report noted that more than 30 launch attempts for the mission contributed to "cumulative schedule pressure and decision fatigue."
When Starliner's technical failures became apparent, NASA and Boeing made the controversial decision to undock the spacecraft and return it to Earth without its crew. This left Williams and Wilmore aboard the ISS for a staggering 286 days—far longer than any U.S. crew had previously remained on a single mission. The astronauts finally returned home in March 2025, hitching a ride on SpaceX’s Crew-9 Dragon capsule, which splashed down off the coast of Florida. Both Williams and Wilmore have since retired from NASA.
The Starliner mishap has not only exposed technical vulnerabilities but also ignited a firestorm of political and public scrutiny. According to USA Today, the mission became a flashpoint for criticism from former President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, both of whom blamed the Biden administration and accused NASA of "abandoning" its astronauts. Trump, in particular, sought to claim credit for the astronauts' eventual return, despite the plan being in place long before his re-election. Throughout the ordeal, Williams and Wilmore defended NASA’s decisions, characterizing their extended stay as "part of the job."
Boeing, for its part, has pledged to learn from the episode. In a statement quoted by NPR, the company said, "NASA's report will reinforce our ongoing efforts to strengthen our work as we work closely with NASA to ensure readiness for future Starliner missions." The report offered 61 formal recommendations for improvement, and Boeing expressed its commitment to implementing them. Despite the debacle, NASA still plans to continue with Starliner missions, aiming to maintain two commercial providers—Boeing and SpaceX—for crewed flights to the ISS until the station’s planned retirement by 2030.
The Starliner mission’s troubles were not limited to technical glitches. The NASA report highlighted an erosion of trust between the agency and Boeing, with leadership at both organizations accused of being too willing to accept risks. "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," Isaacman emphasized. Independent experts echoed this sentiment. Don Platt, head of aerospace engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology, told NPR, "Those organizational issues are oftentimes, maybe even more important than the technical problems that they're facing."
The fallout from the Starliner mission has also exposed differing perspectives within the space community. While NASA’s internal review was unsparing in its criticism, a separate 2024 report from the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP)—an independent body reporting to both NASA and Congress—took a more optimistic view. The ASAP report, publicized in February 2025, praised NASA for making a "thoughtful and effective approach" in deciding to undock Starliner without its crew. The panel concluded that, had the astronauts attempted re-entry aboard the troubled capsule, the risks would have been unacceptably high. "Had the crew been aboard, this would have significantly increased the risk during re-entry, confirming the wisdom of the decision," the report found.
Despite the controversy, NASA’s leadership is signaling a new era of accountability and transparency. Isaacman’s willingness to publicly criticize both his own agency and a major contractor is unusual in the annals of U.S. spaceflight. Observers like Platt see this as a sign that NASA, under Isaacman, is "setting the stage for sort of the new way that NASA plans to do business." That could mean stricter oversight of contractors and a more rigorous approach to mission safety—an imperative as the agency looks ahead to ambitious goals in lunar and Mars exploration.
For now, the Starliner episode stands as a sobering reminder of the complexities and risks inherent in human spaceflight. As the agency moves to implement the report’s 61 recommendations and prepares for future crewed missions, the lessons of 2024 are likely to shape NASA’s culture and operations for years to come. The hope, as Isaacman put it, is that "we have to own our mistakes and ensure they never happen again."
With both Boeing and NASA under the microscope, the Starliner saga has become a pivotal moment for U.S. space policy—a test not just of engineering, but of leadership, transparency, and the willingness to confront uncomfortable truths in pursuit of safer, more reliable journeys beyond Earth.