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A formal NASA review upgraded the Starliner incident to a major mishap, signaling an event that crosses established damage and safety thresholds. The agency’s document identifies multiple failure modes in the spacecraft’s propulsion chain and faults in program oversight that together produced an elevated operational risk.
Two astronauts who flew on the mission stayed aboard the orbital laboratory far longer than planned because the vehicle could not be certified safe for return. That unplanned extension left the crew to rejoin Earth on a separate provider’s vehicle, underscoring practical dependencies inside the Commercial Crew architecture.
Investigators point to decision-making breakdowns and strained interactions among program participants, describing meetings that became counterproductive and, at times, unprofessional. Leaders at multiple levels are criticized for allowing those dynamics to persist, which the review links to degraded safety assurance across the project.
Boeing says it remains committed to delivering a second commercial crew option and reports having implemented corrective measures since the flight. The company highlights technical fixes and cultural change efforts completed in the 18 months after the mission while continuing to work under a large agency contract.
The probe’s conclusions raise sharp questions about how far NASA’s commercial oversight model can be stretched for crewed missions without stronger checks. Agency leaders promise additional scrutiny on other human-rated programs to prevent recurrence while defending separate, traditionally procured deep-space missions from immediate contagion.
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A wet‑dress rehearsal for Artemis II was aborted after a renewed liquid‑hydrogen leak at a ground‑to‑vehicle interface, despite component‑level fixes and a redesigned valve. The failure — coming after the stack’s transfer to Launch Complex 39B and a campaign already squeezed by a weather delay — highlights how the SLS’s very low flight cadence and high per‑unit cost force each tanking and launch to behave like an experiment rather than routine operations.
Post-flight analysis found ablative material from Orion's heat shield detached at more than 100 locations during Artemis 1 reentry, caused by trapped gases in the Avcoat layer. Separately, a recent SLS wet‑dress rehearsal was halted by a renewed liquid‑hydrogen leak, compressing Artemis 2 launch opportunities and amplifying schedule risk while NASA pursues a steeper, no‑skip reentry profile and expanded materials testing.
Elon Musk signaled on social media that SpaceX is aiming for a March launch of the next Starship test, roughly six weeks after his post. The flight will debut the third-generation Starship from a newly built Pad 2 at Starbase and carries hardware changes intended to expand payload capacity and enable in-orbit refueling for lunar missions.
Congressional language and a fixed funding window have narrowed NASA’s options for a Mars orbital mission, effectively steering the agency toward a telecom-focused spacecraft. Agency leaders must decide quickly whether to seek a pure communications platform, add scientific instruments, or create a competitive program stretched across multiple funding sources.
A House committee overseeing NASA approved a reauthorization bill that includes an amendment allowing the agency to buy operational deep‑space transport services from U.S. commercial providers. The change signals congressional intent to let private firms compete for cargo and crew missions beyond the Moon’s surface architecture currently tied to Artemis hardware.
China conducted an in-flight abort trial that recovered a Long March 10 booster and validated critical reentry and restart technologies while a Mengzhou crew capsule completed a splashdown test. The demonstrations accelerate Beijing’s reusable-launch ambitions and advance preparations for a crew-capable lunar vehicle slated for orbital trials later this year.
A federal watchdog says limited travel allowances, too few inspectors and weak workforce planning have reduced the FAA’s capacity to monitor United Airlines’ upkeep program. Several agency recommendations dating back to 2019 remain unfulfilled, leaving persistent review gaps in airlines’ safety-management processes.
NASA has contracted Axiom Space to run a fifth privately organized astronaut flight to the International Space Station, scheduled no earlier than January 2027. The mission will carry up to four private crew members, remain docked for about two weeks, and represents a step toward expanding commercial operations in low Earth orbit.