NASA cuts missions for Boeing Starliner contract, next flight will have no crew

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The next trip to space for Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner spacecraft won’t have a crew on board after NASA announced changes to the commercial crew contract that also slashes the total number of missions to the International Space Station.

NASA on Monday announced the update to the 2014 contract that originally called for six operational crewed flights to the station after completing both a successful uncrewed and crewed flight test.

Now, the contract reduces that total to four missions, although the remaining two will be available as options.

The move comes after Starliner’s last flight in June 2024, which flew to the station with two NASA astronauts for what was supposed to be as short as an eight-day stay on board.

But issues with its th