Stranded in space: Two astronauts from flawed Boeing mission to return to Earth with SpaceX

They were supposed to spend eight days in space, but they will stay there for eight months: the two astronauts transported to the International Space Station by Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will not return to Earth until February with competitor SpaceX, NASA announced on Saturday, August 24, 2024.

The serial difficulties encountered on the Starliner led to the difficult decision not to use this ship to bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth. A snub for Boeing, already mired in repeated setbacks on its airliners.

“NASA has decided that Butch and Suni will return with the Crew-9 crew next February, and that Starliner will return without a crew”, NASA boss Bill Nelson said at a press conference following a decision-making committee meeting on Saturday.

As a precaution

He justified this decision as a safety precaution, but said he still counted on the SpaceX and Boeing duo to deliver astronauts in space, claiming to be “100% sure” “100% sure” that Boeing would once again launch Starliner with a crew.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams took off in early June aboard Starliner and have been on the ISS ever since, where their ship has remained docked.

Radical solution

It was originally supposed to bring them back to Earth eight days later, but problems detected in its propulsion system led NASA to question its reliability.

And to consider a radical backup solution: to bring back its passengers, who have already spent two and a half months in the flying laboratory, with a regular SpaceX mission in February.

“Too risky”

For weeks, teams at Boeing and NASA have been conducting tests to better understand the cause of the problems encountered in flight, particularly with the spacecraft's thrusters. The main concern is that Starliner might not be able to generate the thrust needed to break out of orbit and begin its descent to Earth.

Attempting a return with these malfunctions “was simply too risky for the crew,” said Steve Stich, a senior NASA official. Starliner will therefore leave the ISS for a return to Earth, without its crew, “early September”.

Stuck in orbit

A regular SpaceX mission, called Crew-9, is set to launch in late September, carrying just two astronauts instead of four. It is to remain docked to the ISS until its return to Earth in February. And would then bring back the two Boeing castaways in addition to the two Crew-9 astronauts.

“SpaceX stands ready to assist NASA in any way possible”, reacted on X the number 2 of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, stuck in orbit for many more months, “fully support the agency's decision and are ready to continue their mission aboard the ISS", declared during the press conference Norm Knight, an official of the Nasa.

Additional analyses

Boeing still assured at the beginning of the month that it was "confident" in the ability of Starliner "to return safely with the crew". But NASA, which has been extremely cautious since the deadly accidents of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles, has persisted in demanding additional analyses, ultimately arriving at a “technical disagreement” with Boeing, Steve Stich modestly declared.

“Trust must be reciprocal”, Bill Nelson nevertheless warned.

This decision, unanimous on the NASA side, further tarnishes the image of Boeing, which is also in turmoil after a series of malfunctions on its aircraft.

In a press release, the manufacturer said “to focus, above all, on the safety of the crew and the spacecraft.”

Ten years ago, NASA ordered a new spacecraft from Boeing and SpaceX each to transport its astronauts to the ISS. With two vehicles, it wants to not be left without a solution in the event of a problem with one or the other.

Space taxi role

But Elon Musk's company has largely beaten Boeing and has been acting alone as the American space taxi for four years now.

This first crewed flight of Starliner, carried out years late due to setbacks during its development, was to be the last test before starting its regular operations.