LOS ANGELES, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Thursday released an investigation report into Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crewed test flight, citing combined hardware failures, qualification gaps, leadership missteps and cultural breakdowns that created risk conditions inconsistent with the agency's human spaceflight safety standards.
Due to the temporary loss of the spacecraft's maneuverability as the crew approached the International Space Station, as well as associated financial losses, NASA has classified the test flight as a "Type A mishap," the highest level in the agency's mishap reporting system.
"The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced challenges throughout its uncrewed and most recent crewed missions," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said at a press conference. "The technical difficulties encountered during docking with the International Space Station were very apparent."
"Today, we are formally declaring a Type A mishap and ensuring leadership accountability so situations like this never reoccur," Isaacman said, adding that NASA will work with Boeing to implement corrective actions before returning Starliner to flight.
Starliner launched on June 5, 2024, on its first crewed test mission to the space station. Originally planned as an eight-to-14-day mission, the flight was extended to 93 days after propulsion system anomalies were identified in orbit.
After reviewing flight data and conducting ground testing, NASA decided to return the spacecraft without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The capsule landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico in September 2024. The two astronauts later returned safely to Earth aboard NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission in March 2025.
NASA chartered an independent Program Investigation Team in February 2025 to examine technical, organizational and cultural factors contributing to the mission's issues. The report was completed in November 2025.
NASA and Boeing have been working together since Starliner's return to identify and address the challenges encountered during the mission, and technical root cause work continues.
Investigators found that an interplay of hardware failures and programmatic shortcomings created risk conditions that did not meet NASA's safety standards for human spaceflight.
NASA said it is implementing corrective actions to address the findings and ensure lessons learned to improve the safety of future Starliner missions and other agency programs. ■