Boeing Starliner-1

This article is about the space mission. For Starliner unit #1, see Boeing Starliner § List of spacecraft. For Starliner flight #1, see Boeing Starliner § List of flights.

Boeing Starliner-1, also called Post Certification Mission-1 (PCM-1), is the name of the first operational crewed mission of the Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Commercial Crew Program. It was originally planned as the first Starliner mission following the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT).^[4] However, the CFT encountered significant technical problems, and as of August 2025^[update], the launch date for the next Starliner mission is not known.^[5] The flight will launch no earlier than early 2026.^[2]

Boeing Starliner-1

Artist's impression of a Boeing Starliner docking to the ISS
Names	Post Certification Mission-1 PCM-1[1]
Mission type	ISS crew transport
Operator	Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Mission duration	180 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 2
Spacecraft type	Boeing Starliner
Manufacturer	Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Launch mass	13,000 kg (29,000 lb)
Crew
Crew size	4
Members	Scott D. Tingle TBA Joshua Kutryk TBA
Start of mission
Launch date	TBD[2]
Rocket	Atlas V N22[a]
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC-41
Contractor	United Launch Alliance[b]
End of mission
Landing site	TBD[c]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Harmony forward or zenith
Time docked	180 days (planned)
Commercial Crew Program ← SpaceX Crew-12 SpaceX Crew-13 → Boeing Starliner flights ← Boeing CFT Boeing Starliner-2 →

Crew

The initial crew assignments were made in 2018, but the Starliner program has encountered multiple delays resulting in multiple changes in the crew assignments. On 18 April 2022, NASA said that it had not finalized which of the cadre of Starliner astronauts, including Barry Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Sunita Williams, would fly on the Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission or this mission.^[6] On 16 June 2022, NASA confirmed that CFT was to be a two-person flight test, and Williams was assigned to the CFT mission.

On 30 September 2022, Scott D. Tingle was assigned as commander and Michael Fincke as pilot.^[7] Fincke was also a backup crew member on Boe-CFT.^[8]

On 22 November 2023, Joshua Kutryk was assigned to the mission by the Canadian Space Agency.^[9] Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was expected to take the fourth seat.^[10]

Due to its delays, several astronauts originally assigned to Starliner-1 were reassigned to other missions: in 2018, Sunita Williams was planned to fly on Starliner-1,^[11] but was later reassigned to the earlier CFT. Jeanette Epps was added to the Starliner-1 mission on 25 August 2020^[12] but reassigned to SpaceX Crew-8 in August 2023.^[13] Koichi Wakata was officially added to the Starliner-1 mission on 21 May 2021, but then reassigned to the SpaceX Crew-5 mission, which launched in October 2022.^[14][15][16]

On 27 March 2025, Fincke and Yui were reassigned to SpaceX Crew-11 due to ongoing testing with the Boeing Starliner Calypso following technical issues during the Boeing Crew Flight Test.

As this marks the first operational flight of Starliner, a Russian cosmonaut is not expected to be on board as Roscosmos has stated they do not want to put Russian cosmonauts on Starliner until it has flown successful Commercial Crew Program flights.^[17]

Prime crew

Position	Crew member
Commander	Scott D. Tingle, NASA Second spaceflight
Pilot	TBA
Mission Specialist	Joshua Kutryk, CSA First spaceflight
Mission Specialist	TBA

Mission

This mission was intended to be the first reuse of a Starliner spacecraft. That vehicle was initially flown as the first uncrewed Orbital Flight Test mission in December 2019. On 22 December 2019, Sunita Williams (at that time assigned to be commander on this mission) announced the name "Calypso" for the spacecraft.^[18] Calypso was used for Boe-CFT instead. Spacecraft 2, which was used for Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2, will instead be flying this mission.

Due to various technical issues during the Boeing Crew Flight Test, including NASA deeming it was too risky to return its astronauts to Earth onboard the Starliner, the path to Starliner's NASA certification has been put into doubt, as it is possible Boeing would need to perform a second Crew Flight Test,^[19] which would result in significant delays to Starliner-1.^[20][21][22]

Internally, at Boeing, the company hoped to get Starliner working in order to fill a slot in the Commercial Crew Program in 2025. However, they failed to get the ship in working order in time. It wouldn't be until Steve Stich, director of the program gave a press conference on July 10, 2025 that the situation around the future mission was elaborated on. Stich stated that the next Starliner flight would likely be an unmanned cargo mission and that the main sticking point in the Starliner's development are the oxidizer valves, namely the temperature controls required for effective pulses of fuel and oxidizer through these valves not being at a level NASA deems acceptable, but that steady progress to fix the issue is being made. Stich concluded by saying NASA was optimistic that another manned Starliner flight would take place for the second slot in the program in the later part of 2026.^[23]

Notes

1. N22 designates that the Atlas V has no payload fairing, two solid rocket boosters, and two Centaur second-stage engines.
2. Boeing owns a 50% stake in ULA. Lockheed Martin owns the other 50%.
3. Potential landing locations include two sites inside the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the Willcox Playa in Arizona, the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and Edwards Air Force Base in California.^[3]