Boeing astronauts stranded on ISS to return to Earth in 2025 with SpaceX

NASA has finally made its choice: The astronauts from Boeing's ill-fated mission, Butch Wilmore, 61, and Suni Williams, 58, will return to Earth with SpaceX in February 2025. The Americans had left on an eight-person rehearsal mission for just a few days, but malfunctions detected in the capsule are delaying their return by several months, NASA announced Saturday.

The latter announced in early August that the first two astronauts on the Boeing mission might have to extend their stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for several months. The US space agency finally authorized the rescue of the astronauts aboard the Dragon capsule… from the competing company SpaceX.

Boeing camouflage

The Starliner’s successive difficulties led to the difficult decision not to use the ship to return Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams to Earth. It’s a snub to Boeing, which has already been hobbled by repeated setbacks with its aircraft. 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 after a decision-making committee meeting on Saturday.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Starliner in early June and have been aboard the International Space Station ever since, where their ship remains docked.

radical solution

They were originally supposed to return to Earth after eight days, but problems discovered in its propulsion system led NASA to question its reliability and consider this radical emergency solution.

For weeks, Boeing and NASA teams have been running tests to better understand the cause of the flight problems, particularly with the spacecraft’s thrusters. The main concern is that Starliner won’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.

So SpaceX’s regular mission, called Crew-9, is set to launch in late September, with just two astronauts instead of four. It will remain docked to the ISS until its scheduled return to Earth in February. Then two Boeing outcasts will be brought back in addition to the two Crew-9 astronauts.

Additional analysis

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.

The decision further damages Boeing’s image, which has also been in turmoil after a series of aircraft failures. Ten years ago, NASA ordered a new spacecraft from Boeing and SpaceX to ferry its astronauts to the International Space Station. With two vehicles, it doesn’t want to be left out in the cold if one or the other fails. But Elon Musk’s company has largely outpaced Boeing, and has been playing the role of America’s space taxi alone for four years.

This first crewed flight of the Starliner, which was delayed by years due to setbacks during its development, was the final test before regular operations began.