NASA: Starliner Astronauts May Not Return Until February

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been on the International Space Station for more than two months despite an intended eight-day stay.

Wednesday, August 07, 2024 at 04:41 PM ET

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NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have spent two months aboard the International Space Station and may not return until February. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stranded on the International Space Station for over two months due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, far exceeding their planned 8-day mission.
Confidence in Starliner's ability to safely return the astronauts is waning at NASA due to stabilized helium leaks and five faulty thrusters, whose root cause (a heat-expanded Teflon seal) is still being fully understood despite recent on-orbit tests showing improved performance.
NASA is seriously evaluating a contingency plan for the astronauts to return on a SpaceX Crew-9 mission in February, which would launch with a reduced crew to make room for Wilmore and Williams.
A decision is expected by mid-August, with internal disagreement between NASA (seeking root cause understanding) and Boeing (expressing high confidence), and the SpaceX option would require Starliner to perform an uncrewed autonomous undocking after a software modification.

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NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have now spent more than two months on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Boeing Starliner’s crew flight test (CFT), which the space agency intended to be an eight-day stay. NASA now says they may not return until February.

NASA officials on Wednesday held a media briefing, during which stakeholders revealed that confidence in Starliner’s ability to return the astronauts is waning. According to Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the agency’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, teams are “getting more serious about evaluating our other options.”

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.