NASA, Boeing to start testing Starliner for next flight aimed at early 2026

FILE PHOTO: Boeing's Starliner spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rolls toward the launch pad, in preparation for the launch of Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT), in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. May 4, 2024. REUTERS/Steve Nesius/File Photo

(Reuters) - NASA said on Thursday it was moving toward certifying Boeing's CST-100 Starliner for crewed flights later this year or by early 2026 after its inaugural mission to the International Space Station was marred by a system fault, forcing an extended stay.

The agency is working with Boeing to resolve the Starliner's faulty propulsion system, which caused its debut eight-day crewed mission to stretch into a nine-month stay in space for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.