---
title: "It Turns Out Boeing’s Derelict Starliner Is Unable to Fly Without a Crew on Board"
description: "Starliner's current flight software isn't able to autonomously undock from the space station and reenter, Ars Technica reports."
date: "2024-08-06"
modified: "2024-08-06"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-starliner-unable-fly-without-crew"
categories:
  - "Boeing"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "boeing"
  - "international space station"
  - "starliner"
  - "the digest"
---

# It Turns Out Boeing’s Derelict Starliner Is Unable to Fly Without a Crew on Board

![Starliner's current flight software isn't able to autonomously undock from the space station and reenter, Ars Technica reports.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/boeing-starliner-unable-fly-without-crew.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Rock and a Hard Place

Boeing's plagued Starliner is still stranded at the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived at the station two months ago today, still don't have an official return date as the space agency is [evaluating its options](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-considering-rescuing-astronauts-spacex>).

And as [*Ars Technica* reports](<https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/nasa-likely-to-significantly-delay-the-launch-of-crew-9-due-to-starliner-issues/>), even having the doomed spacecraft return to the surface without any astronauts on board — reportedly a [key option for NASA at this point](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-forced-send-boeing-starliner-back-empty>) — may not even be on the table.

According to *Ars*' sources, Starliner's current flight software isn't able to autonomously undock from the space station and reenter through the Earth's atmosphere — if confirmed, a confounding new ripple for what has already turned out to be a disastrous crewed flight test for Boeing and NASA.

## Software Update

Problems with the capsule's control system thrusters have caused major delays for Williams and Wilmore's return. NASA [has been pondering](<https://futurism.com/nasa-spacex-rescue-astronauts-stranded-boeing-starliner>) whether to send the pair back on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch to the ISS later this year.

Even that mission, however, could soon be pushed back, slipping from August 18 to September 24, according to *Ars*.

Why exactly Starliner's software is unable to perform autonomous docking procedures remains uncertain. After all, Boeing [already demonstrated such an ability](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-starliner-mission-going-well>) during its uncrewed orbital flight test in May 2022.

To update the software now would be a "non-trivial" and "significant" undertaking that could take up to four weeks, according to *Ars*, which could explain why SpaceX's upcoming crewed mission is being delayed.

"Starliner was designed as a spacecraft to have the crew in the cockpit," NASA Commercial Crew program manager Steve Stich told reporters on July 25. "The crew is integral to the spacecraft."

Did NASA buy itself time to update the software so that Starliner can return autonomously? Given the latest report, it's not unlikely.

**More on Starliner:** *[Boeing's Stranded Starliner Has Failed So Spectacularly That It Looks Like It'll Push Back SpaceX's Next Astronaut Launch](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-starliner-push-back-spacex-astronaut-launch>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)