Boeing Starliner crew stuck on ISS until at least February 2025
SpaceX to return Boeing Starliner crew from ISS (photo: Getty Images)
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will bring home two NASA astronauts. The crew of the Boeing Starliner cannot return to Earth on their own due to a ship malfunction, reports CNN.
The Boeing Starliner that carried astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the space station in early June suffered setbacks due to a helium leak and engines that suddenly stopped working on the first leg of its first crewed test flight.
Engineers spent weeks trying to better understand the problems, and on August 2, Boeing said that “confidence remains high" that the spacecraft will be able to return Williams and Wilmore to Earth.
However, during a briefing on August 7, NASA said that discussions within the space agency about the safety of the Starliner capsule have evolved, prompting the federal agency to more seriously consider flying the astronauts home on the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which has flown about a dozen crewed missions into space since 2020.
In order not to put the astronauts at risk, SpaceX will deliver them to the ground.
The company is already planning to carry out a regular mission to the International Space Station, transporting four astronauts as part of the standard crew rotation aboard the orbiting laboratory. However, from now on, the mission, called Crew-9, will now be reconfigured to carry two astronauts on board instead of four.
This adjustment will leave two seats available for Williams and Wilmore on the Crew-9 flight home.
The astronauts will also join Crew-9 as part of an official ISS expedition. After this transition, Williams and Wilmore will remain in place for another six months.
In June of this year, Boeing sent a ship with people to the ISS.
The first flight of the Boeing Starliner was scheduled for February 2023. However, it was postponed due to technical problems.
The next flight date was also changed.
