Two NASA cosmonaut who have been stuck in orbit for over two months after the Boeing Starliner ballistic capsule they travel in developed a fault on the outward journeying will regress to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon craftiness next year . Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were aboard the Starliner for what was supposed to be a one - week trial flight , butissues with the trade ’s thrustershave forced it to remain docked at the International Space Station for examination . Now , the Starliner will return home uncrewed , and the astronauts will stay on the place to finish a six - month stint there .
This is a major setback for both NASA and Boeing , as NASA has repeatedly stress its desire for multiple commercial-grade alternative for locomotion to the space station in addition to the SpaceX Dragon . But engineer have struggled to replicate and address the issue with the Starliner from the background , and the agency says it is prioritizing the condom of Wilmore and Williams by keep them aboard the station .
“ Spaceflight is high-risk , even at its safest and most routine . A test flight , by nature , is neither safe , nor mundane , ” say NASA Administrator Bill Nelson . “ The conclusion to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing ’s Starliner home uncrewed is the resultant role of our commitment to rubber : our core value and our North Star . I ’m grateful to both the NASA and Boeing team for all their unbelievable and detailed work . ”
The two cosmonaut will join Crew-9 , a SpaceX mission that will launch with two astronauts instead of the usual four next calendar month . Wilmore and Williams will become a part of this crew , then travel home along with them in the Dragon in February 2025 .
But before Crew-9 can found , the Starliner call for to return to Earth for more testing and fix , so it can free up a docking port wine on the post for the Dragon . NASA has not yet announced a day of the month for this departure , but it will need to be in the next few calendar week to make elbow room for the Crew-9 arrival .
Once Starliner has return to Earth , NASA says it will conduct a review article to see what needs to be prepare on the ballistic capsule before it can be used to transport crew again . However , the agency has continued to carry sureness the the Starliner can shape eventually .
“ Starliner is a very capable spacecraft and , ultimately , this comes down to needing a higher level of certainty to do a crewed income tax return , ” said Steve Stich , manager of NASA ’s Commercial Crew Program . “ The NASA and Boeing team have complete a terrible amount of testing and analytic thinking , and this flight trial is leave critical info on Starliner ’s performance in space . Our efforts will aid make for the uncrewed return and will greatly do good next corrective action for the spacecraft . ”
