NASA and Boeing will begin testing Starliner in preparation for its upcoming voyage in early 2026.

Following an extended stay due to a technical malfunction on its first journey to the ISS, NASA announced on Thursday that it was progressing towards certifying Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner for crewed flights later this year or by early 2026.

The government is collaborating with Boeing to fix the Starliner’s malfunctioning propulsion system, which resulted in NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ eight-day initial crewed flight extending into a nine-month stay in orbit.

Earlier this month, Wilmore and Williams made their way back aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.

As NASA gets ready for the next flight of the Starliner, joint teams are settling on the scope and schedule for a number of propulsion system test campaigns and studies that are planned for the spring and summer.

The voyage is probably scheduled for late this year or early next year, according to Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Boeing’s endeavour to repair the Starliner’s malfunctioning propulsion system has contributed to the aerospace behemoth’s difficult spacecraft development, which has cost it over $2 billion.