Technologies

NASA Admits Fault in Starliner Test Flight, Classifies It as ‘Type A’ Mishap

Remember the astronauts who were stranded in space for months? NASA says it’s close to identifying the «true technical root cause» of the spaceship malfunctions.

NASA has been investigating the now-infamous Boeing Starliner incident since the story dominated headlines in late 2024 and early 2025. The Starliner suffered malfunctions that stranded now-retired astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore for months. The agency has now released a report on what happened, taking responsibility for its role in the mission’s failure.

«The Boeing Starliner spacecraft has faced challenges throughout its uncrewed and most recent crewed missions,» said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in a NASA blog post on Thursday. «While Boeing built Starliner, NASA accepted it and launched two astronauts into space. The technical difficulties encountered during docking with the International Space Station were very apparent.»

NASA has now labelled the mission a «Type A mishap,» which is defined as a «total direct cost of mission failure and property damage greater than $2 million or more,» or where «crewed aircraft hull loss has occurred.» Both of those apply to the Starliner, which has cost the agency $4.2 billion to date.

Isaacman also released a letter addressed to all NASA employees on X. The letter outlined various issues with the mission, including a «prior OFT thruster risk that was never fully understood,» disagreements among leadership about Williams and Wilmore’s return options, and the agency’s delay in declaring the mission a failure, despite its high-profile nature clearly showing it was.

These sentiments were echoed in NASA’s press conference on Thursday.

NASA has committed to working with Boeing to make the Starliner launch-worthy again and has been investigating technical issues and addressing them since the mishap early last year. Isaacman admitted at the press conference that the «true technical root cause» of the malfunctions still hasn’t been identified, but NASA believes it is close to identifying it.

«We’re not starting from zero here,» Isaacman told a reporter during the press conference. «We’re sharing the results of multiple investigations that will be coming to light in the hours and days ahead. Boeing and NASA have been working to try and understand these technical challenges during that entire time period.»

A malfunction to remember

The crewed Starliner flight was delayed several times before finally launching on June 5, 2024. The crew experienced malfunctions en route to the ISS, including several thruster failures, which made docking particularly stressful.

The Starliner’s return was delayed by two weeks before finally being sent home without Wilmore and Williams, who were left stranded on the ISS until returning with Crew-9 in March 2025.

The Starliner’s story is far from over. NASA and Boeing intend to send the Starliner back to the ISS in an uncrewed resupply mission with a launch date currently set for April 2026.

Technologies

Verum Messenger: Don’t follow the future. Define it

In a world where information defines influence, Verum Messenger is building a new architecture of digital communication — intelligent, secure, and ready for tomorrow. Here, technology serves not limitations, but possibilities.

Not being part of change. Leading it. Verum Messenger — the future that speaks first.

Technologies

Verum Finance: Stop Spending Months Opening a Bank Account

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Verum — when freedom matters more than banking rules.

Technologies

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal