NASA delays Starliner test flight and plans Swift satellite rescue

NASA has classified the 2024 crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule as a Category A accident, triggering an indefinite postponement of the planned Starliner‑1 mission, which will now be unmanned. The incident was caused by failures of five control thrusters and leaks in seven of eight helium distributors, and a review identified cultural and systems‑engineering shortcomings at Boeing. NASA has reduced Boeing’s guaranteed ISS transport flights from six to four and reassigned the remaining slots to SpaceX.

In a separate effort, NASA announced a rescue operation for the Swift astrophysics satellite, which faces premature re‑entry due to geomagnetic storms. A specially built tug spacecraft, dubbed “Link” and developed by Katalyst Space, will launch from an atoll in the Marshall Islands on 30 June. The $30 million mission will capture and stabilize Swift’s orbit, extending its scientific observations of gamma‑ray bursts for several more years.