Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is set to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) without a crew later today after NASA made the decision to bring the two astronauts who traveled aboard the spacecraft back to Earth via a SpaceX vehicle. This decision, described as “tough” by Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, was made after a tense meeting between NASA and Boeing. While Boeing expressed confidence in their spacecraft’s ability to return the astronauts safely, NASA’s team identified “limitations” in the company’s modeling of thruster degradation, leading to concerns about the spacecraft’s ability to safely return the astronauts to Earth.
The decision to bring the astronauts back on a SpaceX vehicle was announced last month. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who launched into space on June 5th aboard Starliner, were initially scheduled to return after approximately eight days. However, technical issues discovered during docking, including helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters, delayed their return. Ultimately, NASA determined that bringing them back on the Boeing spacecraft was not feasible.
The astronauts will now return with the Crew-9 astronauts in February. The Crew-9 mission, originally scheduled to launch with four astronauts, will now carry only two to accommodate Williams and Wilson on the return journey. The launch is planned for no earlier than September 24th.
The Starliner is scheduled to undock from the space station at around 6 p.m. EDT on September 6th and land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at approximately 12:03 a.m. on Saturday, September 7th. This return is anticipated to be safe and uneventful, as the spacecraft successfully completed an uncrewed entry and landing during its previous flight tests.
