WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The earliest Boeing's Starliner spacecraft could fly again is early 2026, NASA said on Friday, as it evaluates whether to put humans on board one year after propulsion system issues on the capsule forced its debut crew to stay on the International Space Station for roughly nine months.

According to US media reports, a year ago on June 6, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station to begin its long-awaited Crew Flight Test with NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore onboard.

The agency said the timing of the next launch is “pending system certification and resolution of Starliner’s technical issues.” Repeating what it said in a March 27 press release, NASA said it was still determining whether or not the next flight of Starliner would carry astronauts onboard.

In an interview last month, Williams called flying an uncrewed Starliner flight as its next trip to space would be “the logical thing to do.”

“I think that’s the correct path,” Williams said, adding that she hoped “Boeing and NASA will decide on that same course of action.”

After launching on its first mission to the International Space Station with crew on board in June 2024, lingering issues concerning helium leaks and propulsion system anomalies caused the spacecraft to return to Earth without its crew onboard. It touched down at the White Sands Space Harbour in New Mexico on Sept. 7.