After 268 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams made their highly anticipated return to Earth on Tuesday evening. But while they are back on solid ground, the vehicle that flew them to the orbital laboratory faces an uncertain future.
Wilmore and Williams were commander and pilot, respectively, for the inaugural crew flight test (CFT) of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which the company is developing under a multibillion-dollar NASA contract. The brief mission was extended after engineers uncovered helium leaks and thruster issues with Starliner, which returned to Earth empty in September, prompting NASA to enlist SpaceX for the astronauts’ return flight.
