I hope astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams didn't have any holiday vacation plans because their stay at the International Space Station is going to be a bit longer than anticipated. In a press conference, NASA revealed its decision regarding the Starliner crew, who had been stranded waiting patiently in the International Space Station since June 6th. The Starliner crew will remain on the ISS until February 2025 and return home with SpaceX Crew-9. The Starliner capsule will return uncrewed at an unspecified later date.
In response to a question from the press, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson revealed that everyone on the NASA team agreed that after months of testing and discussion, it was unsafe for the crew to return on Starliner. Representatives from Boeing were divided.
NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters on June 6 as Starliner approached the space station. Since then, engineering teams have completed a significant amount of work, including reviewing a collection of data, conducting flight and ground testing, hosting independent reviews with agency propulsion experts, and developing various return contingency plans. The uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency's safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, thus prompting NASA leadership to move the astronauts to the Crew-9 mission.
The Space X Crew-9 mission, which was delayed while awaiting this decision, will launch with only two crew, carrying additional cargo and extra Crew Dragon re-entry suits. SpaceX will also bring some personal effects for the Starliner crew, who only packed for an eight-day trip. The Starliner capsule will return from the ISS autonomously, requiring more work from NASA and Boeing to ensure a safe undocking despite the faulty thrusters. Administrator Nelson expressed 100% confidence that the Starliner Crew Flight Tests would continue once the capsule has returned and the thruster issues are corrected. This is not an actual vote of confidence in Boeing, however. Since Boeing is on a fixed-price contract for Starliner, NASA does not have a compelling reason to cancel on its end.
Previously: NASA insists stranded Starliner crew is not "stuck"
