Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may have to hitchhike back to Earth from the International Space Station aboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in 2025, NASA announced Saturday.
The $1.5 billion Boeing Starliner spacecraft that carried Williams and Wilmore to the ISS “experienced helium leaks and problems with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters” while docking with the ISS on June 6, according to NASA.
While Boeing insisted on August 2 that “confidence remains high due to the wealth of valuable testing by Boeing and NASA,” NASA decided it was best not to take “more risks than necessary.”
Instead, the Starliner capsule will return to Earth unmanned, and Wilmore and Williams, who have been on the ISS for nearly 80 days, may remain on board until February 2025, according to NASA.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with two astronauts on board Boeing’s Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test.
Joe Skipper/Reuters
“The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and return Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our guiding light,” the agency added. “The uncertainty and lack of expert judgment do not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight and therefore led NASA leadership to move the astronauts to the Crew-9 mission.”
The Crew-9 mission, which was supposed to carry four passengers, must now adjust its “cargo, personal items and Dragon-specific spacesuits” to accommodate Wilmore and Williams.
An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Mike Blake/Reuters
“Decisions like this are never easy, but I want to commend our NASA and Boeing teams for their thorough analysis, transparent discussions and focus on safety during Crew Flight Test,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, during a press conference Saturday.
According to NASA, the launch of the Crew-9 spacecraft is scheduled “no earlier than September 24.”
Boeing
