Astronauts from Boeing's flawed mission won't return to Earth until February 2025 with SpaceX

NASA made its decision on Saturday, August 24: The first two astronauts on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will not be able to return to Earth in the vehicle, and will have to wait until they are rescued by SpaceX in February 2025.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched in early June aboard the Starliner, and have not left the International Space Station (ISS) since their ship docked there. It was supposed to return them to Earth eight days later, but problems with its propulsion system have led NASA to question its reliability. The decision further dents Boeing’s image, which has also been in turmoil after a series of plane failures.

NASA has decided that Butch and Sonny will return with the Crew-9 crew next February, and that Starliner will return without a crew.NASA Administrator Bill Nelson made the announcement during a news conference following a decision-making committee meeting on Saturday.

For weeks, Boeing and NASA teams have been running tests to better understand the cause of the flight problems, particularly on the spacecraft’s engines. The main concern was that Starliner wouldn’t be able to generate the thrust needed to de-orbit and begin its descent toward Earth. Given that the ship isn’t safe enough, NASA is condemning it to return to Earth empty.

A regular SpaceX mission, called Crew-9, is expected to launch in late September, carrying just two astronauts instead of four. It will remain docked at the International Space Station until its return to Earth, scheduled for February, when it will return the two stranded Boeings and the two Crew-9 astronauts.

Boeing still said earlier this month that it was “confident.”

Boeing still maintained earlier this month that this was the case. ” Confident “ In Starliner's ability “to return safely with the crew”But NASA, which has been extremely cautious since the fatal accidents of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, has continued to demand additional analysis.

Ten years ago, NASA ordered a new spacecraft from Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. With two vehicles, it didn’t want to be left out in the cold if one or the other had a problem. However, Elon Musk’s company has largely outpaced Boeing and has been playing the role of America’s space taxi alone for four years.

The first crewed flight of the Starliner, which was delayed by years due to setbacks during its development, was the last test before flights on the craft become regular.