SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule will bring Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back home from the International Space Station in February 2025, NASA said on Saturday.
The agency’s decision marks the latest setback for Boeing’s costly and chronically delayed Starliner program, and it means extending the astronauts’ intended eight-day journey to a total of eight months.
Since Boeing first landed its $4.3 billion contract with NASA in 2014, the Starliner effort has gone more than $1.5 billion over budget, following a botched first test flight and a slew of subsequent issues, including faulty parachutes, flammable protective tape, rust accumulation, an issue involving an oxygen tank’s pressure regulation valve, and most recently, helium leaks that could compromise the vehicle’s thrusters.
Still currently docked at the International Space Station, the Boeing Starliner will return to Earth uncrewed, in spite of Boeing’s stance that the Starliner is capable of carrying Williams and Wilmore home safely.
The latest saga began with the Starliner’s first crewed test-flight, which launched from on June 5. Starliner teams spotted one helium leak pre-launch, two other leaks during launch, and then two more after docking at ISS. Ever since, NASA and Boeing have been busy evaluating whether the craft was safe enough to bring its passengers back to Earth. At the time, there was talk that the astronauts might be stuck up there for as long as six months.
Trending Products
