NASA Boeing Starliner crew to remain in space until February
Boeing Starliner astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams are expected to remain in space until February, NASA announced Saturday.
NASA management announced on Saturday that Boeing Starliner astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams will officially begin an extended eight-month stay on board the International Space Station.
Wilmore and Williams will have to wait until February after a review of their flight readiness found that returning to Earth on the Boeing spacecraft would be too risky for them, NASA officials said Saturday.
The decision means the Starliner will return to Earth empty-handed to free up a docking slot for SpaceX Crew-9, which is scheduled to reach the space station on Sept. 24 for a six-month rotation mission. The Dragon capsule that will carry Crew-9 into orbit is now also Williams and Wilmore’s way home.
“The decision to keep Butch and Suni on board the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home unmanned is the result of a commitment to safety,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during the press conference. “Our core value is safety, and it is our guiding light. And I am grateful to NASA and Boeing and their teams for all the incredible and detailed work that led to this decision.”
During the press conference, NASA administration stated that safety is its top priority, but the government agency plans to use this experience as a learning opportunity.
“I’ll tell you that the team at NASA and Boeing has made incredible engineering progress in model development, engine testing, understanding the material properties in the valve and the complicated fluid physics that’s going on inside,” said Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator. “We’re a learning organization, and I think we’ve proven that here. We’re going to learn from this effort so that our crews who are at the top of the pyramid on these missions and their families can continue to know that we’ve done this, and we’re always going to do our best.”
The decision resolves the mystery surrounding the fate of Williams and Wilmore, veteran NASA astronauts who arrived at the orbiting outpost on June 6 for what was supposed to be a little over a week.
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What happened to the Boeing Starliner?
Some of the problems began even before Starliner finally managed to launch on its first manned test flight from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 5.
Wilmore and Williams were only supposed to stay aboard the International Space Station for a little over a week before returning to Earth. But when they reached the orbiting outpost a day after launch, engineers discovered a series of helium leaks and problems with the spacecraft’s propulsion system that hampered the Starliner’s return to Earth.
Amid the hectic debate about how to proceed with the Starliner, NASA had already decided to postpone the launch of SpaceX Crew-9.
This mission was originally scheduled to launch in early August as a routine flight, replacing the Crew-8 mission that has been en route to the space station since March. However, because the four Crew-9 members cannot arrive on a SpaceX Dragon until the docking slot occupied by Starliner becomes available, this mission will now not launch before September 24, according to NASA.
The delay gave NASA and Boeing engineering and space specialists time to collect and analyze data from the Starliner in preparation for the flight readiness review.
But that also means that Starliner will have to undock before the Dragon capsule arrives to return to Earth autonomously without a crew. Since Wilmore and Williams now need a return flight to Earth themselves, Crew-9 will only consist of two members instead of four, NASA said.
The Starliner crew will then return with Crew-9 aboard Dragon on February 25, after the SpaceX astronauts complete their six-month rotation on the station.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on USA TODAY’s National Trending Team. Ahjané covers breaking news, auto recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest
