# Why NASA Is Giving Starliner Another Chance | This Week in Spaceflight

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NASA is giving Boeing’s Starliner another chance—and planning a path beyond Atlas V. With SpaceX looking toward the eventual retirement of Falcon and Dragon, we examine why NASA sees Starliner as an important part of its future crew transportation plans.

This week on This Week in Spaceflight, we cover Starliner’s planned uncrewed return to the International Space Station, the fixes needed before astronauts fly again, and the work required to certify ULA’s Vulcan Centaur to launch the spacecraft.

NSF also speaks with ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher about Europe’s options for an independent crew transportation program. Could Europe develop its own astronaut spacecraft—and eventually its own space station?

Also in this episode: • Starship reaches orbit and deploys Starlink V3 satellites • SpaceX completes three Falcon launches in one day • Crew-13’s record-setting trip to the ISS • Blue Origin rebuilds New Glenn’s launch infrastructure • New Glenn 9x4 joins NASA’s launch services contract • NASA completes Artemis III booster stacking • ESA and China’s SMILE mission prepares for science • HyImpulse and Skyrora advance their UK launch plans • JUICE flies past Earth on its journey to Jupiter Download the Next Spaceflight app or visit https://nextspaceflight.com for the latest launch schedules.

#Starship #SpaceX #Spaceflight

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🤵 Hosted by Elysia Segal. 🖋️ Written by Martijn Luinstra and Alejandro Alcantarilla Romera. 🎥 Footage from: Ceaser G, Colleen Liedtke, D Wise, Starbase Live, Space Coast Live, Patrick Ashley, Vast, NASA, NASA/JPL-Caltech, AstroForge, SpaceX, Air & Space Forces Association, JAXA/Toyota, ESA-ATG, ESA/EAC XR Lab-D. Reiter, Voyager Technologies, Firefly…

- What it is: Recorded live
- Length: 26 min
- Shown live: Tue 6 Oct 2026, 01:15 UTC
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