NASA astronauts trapped in space by Boeing to return with SpaceX to Earth: when are they coming back?
Despite a mission to space scheduled to last for eight days, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ may have to wait through to 2025 for a return.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts trapped on the International Space Station after experiencing problems with the Boeing capsule, will not return to Earth until early 2025, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced.
The two flew to the International Space Station in June aboard NASA’s Boeing crewed flight test and have been stuck there after capsule malfunctions marred their trip.
NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced problems with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters on 6 June as Starliner approached the space station.
After extensive review by experts across the agency, NASA's @BoeingSpace Crew Flight Test will return with an uncrewed #Starliner. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are scheduled to return to Earth next spring aboard #Crew9: https://t.co/bfjenUU1Jf pic.twitter.com/c4NzZVJcvw
— NASA (@NASA) August 24, 2024
As for a return date, the agency said Wilmore and Williams “will formally continue their work as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025.” “They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to Space X’s Crew-9 mission,” NASA said.
The agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission is set to launch no earlier than Tuesday, 24 September. The agency will share more information about the Crew-9 add-on when details are finalized.
Boeing’s Starliner will return to Earth in September
NASA also reported that Starliner is expected to lift off from the space station and perform a safe and controlled autonomous reentry and landing in early September.
“Spaceflight is risky, even in its safest and most routine forms. A test flight, by its nature, is neither safe nor routine. The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring home Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner is a result of our commitment to safety – our core value and our North Star,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
The agency also clarified that the uncrewed return allows NASA and Boeing to continue collecting test data from Starliner during its upcoming flight home to improve the system for future flights to the space station.
Starliner must return to Earth before the launch of the Crew-9 mission to ensure a docking port is available on the station.