Boeing's Starliner crew flights hit pause over safety worries
Boeing and NASA are hitting the brakes on sending astronauts with the Starliner spacecraft after some serious safety issues popped up during a 2024 mission.
Instead of flying people, the next Starliner trip will just carry cargo while teams work out fixes.
The move follows a tense moment when astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams made it to the International Space Station but couldn't ride Starliner back because of thruster problems.
What's changing for Boeing's missions?
NASA has trimmed Boeing's planned crewed flights from six down to four, pushing all astronaut trips back until at least April.
That next flight will be a cargo run to test out new repairs—especially upgraded thrusters—before anyone straps in again.
How does this stack up against SpaceX?
Both Boeing and SpaceX were picked by NASA in 2014 to shuttle astronauts after the space shuttle era ended.
Since then, SpaceX has already notched up 12 successful crewed launches.
Meanwhile, Boeing is still working through tough safety checks before Starliner can safely fly people again.