After another Boeing letdown, NASA isn’t ready to buy more Starliner missions

After another Boeing letdown, NASA isn’t ready to buy more Starliner missions

![Boeing's Starliner spacecraft sits atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket before liftoff in June to begin the Crew Flight Test.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GettyImages-2154795618-800x642.jpg) NASA is ready for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, stricken with thruster problems and helium leaks, to leave the International Space Station as soon as Friday, wrapping up a disappointing test flight that has clouded the long-term future of the Starliner program. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard Starliner on June 5, closed the spacecraft's hatch Thursday …