If Starliner remains unsafe, Sunita Williams won’t be returning to earth until next year: NASA

What was initially planned as an eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA astronauts could now be extended to eight months

The Starliner spacecraft, launched in June with the two American astronauts, is undergoing a crucial test mission needed for NASA to certify the spacecraft for routine astronaut flights. (Reuters Photo)

The Nationa Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ON Wednesday announced that if Boeing’s Starliner remains unsafe, astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams could return to Earth on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon only in February 2025.

What was initially planned as an eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA astronauts could now be extended to eight months due to an array of technical issues with Starliner aircraft’s propulsion system, including thruster failures and helium leaks.

The Starliner spacecraft, launched in June with the two American astronauts, is undergoing a crucial test mission needed for NASA to certify the spacecraft for routine astronaut flights.

Following lift-off on June 5, the Boeing-built spacecraft docked at the ISS and was scheduled to begin its return journey toward Earth on June 26. Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams arrived at the ISS following a 24-hour flight, in which the spacecraft encountered four helium leaks and five failures of its 28 maneuvering thrusters.

Also Read | Why Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams is stuck in space

These issues have raised doubts about Starliner’s ability to safely return its crew, Wilmore and Williams, to Earth, that Boeing and NASA have been scrambling to fix.

As a potential solution, NASA has been considering using SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, a proven Commercial Crew Program (CCP) spacecraft, to bring both astronauts safely back to Earth. The Crew Dragon capsule would then be able to return to Earth with Starliner’s crew of two NASA astronauts, who became the first crew to fly Boeing’s Starliner capsule,
in February 2025

In another announcement on Tuesday, NASA said it had delayed the SpaceX capsule launch to the ISS by a month to allow more time for analyzing issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The Crew-9 mission with SpaceX’s Dragon capsule was initially set for August 18 but has been postponed to no earlier than September 24, as confirmed by NASA on August 6. Reports indicated that NASA might send only two astronauts on the Crew-9 mission, allowing Williams and Wilmore to return with them.

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The issues with Boeing’s Starliner began when it docked at the ISS on June 13, where five out of 28 thrusters abruptly failed, along with a helium leak in the service module. Boeing claims to have fixed most of the issues through a series of simulations, with 27 thrusters now reportedly working at full capacity. However, NASA has requested more data from Boeing before allowing Starliner to fly back to Earth.

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