Boeing Starliner astronauts might get a ride home from SpaceX — in 2025

During a press conference today, NASA representatives confirmed they person a contingency scheme to bring astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams location from nan International Space Station (ISS) early adjacent year. If they’re incapable to time off sooner aboard nan Boeing Starliner spacecraft that brought them there, nan backup scheme would trust connected SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which has had its motorboat delayed while officials fig retired what to do next.

After a successful crewed motorboat of nan Boeing Starliner connected June 5th (following several delays), nan 2 astronauts were primitively expected to walk astir a week aboard nan ISS earlier parachuting backmost to Earth. But nan Starliner knowledgeable thruster failures and helium leaks while docking pinch nan ISS, positive additional delays that person near nan astronauts stuck successful orbit for complete 2 months while Boeing and NASA effort to find if nan conveyance is still safe to use.

The June crewed trial formation was primitively scheduled to return spot 7 years ago, and Boeing’s Starliner programme has knowledgeable important delays and costs overruns. If SpaceX ends up having to bring nan 2 astronauts backmost to Earth, it’s conscionable 1 much misstep for Boeing successful a twelvemonth that included a doorway plug exploding retired from 1 of its planes during a flight and pleading guilty to a criminal fraud charge.

Tests conducted astatine NASA’s White Sands Test Facility pointed to deformed Teflon seals being a imaginable origin of nan Starliner’s thrusters failing, but nan agency isn’t expected to make a last determination connected whether aliases not Williams and Wilmore will return utilizing Boeing’s spacecraft until mid-August.

Using Starliner is still NASA’s preferred solution, according to officials, but nan backup scheme would spot SpaceX nonstop conscionable 2 astronauts to nan ISS aboard a precocious September Crew-9 launch, leaving 2 spots disposable for Williams and Wilmore to usage to return successful February of adjacent year. Should that happen, Boeing will reconfigure nan Starliner trade truthful that it tin return to Earth uncrewed up of nan SpaceX Crew-9 launch.