How NASA's upcoming Crew-11 astronauts were impacted by Boeing Starliner incident

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NASA's next crew heading to the International Space Station is set to arrive in Florida in the coming weeks − and this Crew-11 mission is in more ways than one the follow-up mission to last year's ill-fated Starliner flight test.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kimiya Yui, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov are set to embark on an eight-month mission to the ISS as part of NASA's crew rotation on the orbiting outpost.
The crew of four expect to liftoff in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft no earlier than 12:09 p.m. July 31 from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
When the Boeing Starliner flight test ran into trouble last year, many things got moved around, reshaping Crew-11 in the process. Astronauts bumped from previous missions are finally getting the chance to fly.
"We were joyed when we got Starliner up into space, and our friends Butch and Suni docked to the space station," Finke said during a recent press briefing. "And then things changed."
Fincke was originally slated to fly on Starliner's first crew rotation mission, as was Yui. Both were reassigned to this SpaceX Dragon mission.
Going further back, Fincke was originally set to fly on that ill-fated Starliner flight test. Instead, Fincke became a backup astronaut, with NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore becoming the final Starliner flight test crew.
Wilmore and Williams flew to the ISS onboard the Boeing Starliner in June 2024 on the flight which would have certified the spacecraft to ferry NASA astronauts alongside SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Things did not go as planned, with helium leaks and a thruster malfunction occurring all before the duo were able to safely dock to the ISS.
After much investigation, NASA decided to return the Starliner without Williams and Wilmore. This led to the agency to extend the stay of the two astronauts on the ISS and return them as part of Crew-9 on that particular SpaceX Dragon.
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What was originally set to be a 10 day test flight turned into more than nine months and led to national headlines about the crew "stuck in space." They safely returned home in March.
Zena Cardman was set to see her first spaceflight on that Crew-9 flight, but instead was bumped from the mission alongside Stephanie Wilson to allow room for the return of Williams and Wilmore.
"I had many hopes for Crew-9, but my only promise was to do everything in my control for a safe splashdown of Crew-9, and we did that together," said Cardman.
Williams and Wilmore arrived back on Earth in March 2025, splashing down off the Gulf Coast of Florida in that Crew-9 Dragon spacecraft.
Cardman, Fincke, and Yui claim their major assignment changes worked out. "It's often said that it's not when you fly, but with whom you fly, and it worked out super well," said Fincke.
"Yes, of course it was an unexpected change," she said. "But spaceflight is not about me or any individual. It's about what we can do together. None of us can do this by ourselves."
"Now I have the opportunity to train with this wonderful, amazing, crew," Cardman added. "Life is a journey. It takes many turns, and I'm just grateful to be here."
"Starliner changed a lot in our office. Starliner is really important that we have more opportunities and more capabilities to fly into space," said Finke. "And that's why the Commercial Crew Program is still working hard with Boeing to get Starliner to be a viable transportation system up and down from the space station."
NASA has repeatedly stated the need for redundancy in the Commercial Crew Program, seeking two functional spacecraft models in rotation.
Boeing's Starliner was awarded a NASA contract alongside SpaceX as part of the Commercial Crew Program back in 2014. While SpaceX proved the Dragon in 2020 with the successful Demo-2 mission, Starliner has yet to fully complete an astronaut mission.
SpaceX Dragon has since gone on to complete almost 10 crew rotations for NASA, with the addition of seven private astronaut missions.
The initial contracts were for $4.82 billion for Boeing and $3.14 billion for SpaceX.
According to Steve Stich, manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, NASA hopes for a Starliner flight as soon as next year. Currently, NASA is leaning towards the first return flight being a cargo mission. However, a final decision has yet to be made.
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Stich told media that Starliner is currently undergoing a lot of testing after the test flight mishap. Teams are looking into the helium leaks which occurred as well as the thruster issues. This includes pulse testing of the thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.
"What we're looking at is can we test all the changes we are making," said Stich.
Until the resolutions of the issues seen on the Starliner flight test are found, Starliner's next flight date remains up in the air.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [e-mail] or on X: @brookeofstars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Here's how NASA Crew-11 was reshaped by Boeing Starliner incident