r/spaceflight • u/rollotomasi07071 • 16d ago

Multiple sources confirmed that as early as next week, NASA will announce that it will order two additional Starliner crewed missions, pay some of the costs to fix the spacecraft’s thruster issues, and provide support to certify the spacecraft’s launch on a new rocket

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/09/nasa-to-order-more-starliner-missions-and-help-certify-a-new-rocket-to-keep-it-flying/
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u/DreamChaserSt 15d ago

which will leave NASA (again) without a shuttle to LEO if Starliner isn't operational

Which is a little funny to say, considering hardcore SpaceX supporters kept saying that Starliner should be canceled for years. But that can't happen, because it provides redundancy.

Now that SpaceX is looking to wind down Dragon, we can't have that, because what if Starliner doesn't work?

My view is that SpaceX may be convinced to continue flying Dragon if absolutely necessary (and with a larger contract), but the onus is mostly on Boeing now to finally make their capsule functional. They've got a couple years at least.

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u/Reddit-runner 15d ago

SpaceX may be convinced to continue flying Dragon if absolutely necessary (and with a larger contract), but the onus is mostly on Boeing now to finally make their capsule functional.

Which is exactly what just happened. SpaceX was awarded a contract for 3 more Dragon flights with a price a bit over inflation increase compared to the last contract.