Boeing’s Starliner returns empty, NASA will use SpaceX to bring back astronauts

Boeing Will return to the Starliner capsule from the International Space Station without NASA The rocket reached orbit in early June, the agency announced Saturday.

As the Starliner returns to Earth empty, NASA will now have astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams By SpaceX The Dragon spacecraft is expected to launch its ninth scheduled mission to the International Space Station on September 24.

Eventually, Wilmore and Williams Staying on the International Space Station It will fly for about another six months before returning to Earth in February aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 vehicle. The test flight was originally planned to last about nine days.

The decision to bring Starliner back from the ISS empty marks a significant shift in stance for NASA and Boeing, as the two organizations had previously insisted the capsule was the preferred choice for returning astronauts.

But the Starliner crewed flight test, seen as the last major milestone in the spacecraft’s development, has faced problems — most notably with its propulsion system.

“Boeing worked closely with NASA to get the data needed to make this decision,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a news conference with senior NASA officials at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on Saturday. “We want to further understand the root cause and understand the design improvements so that Boeing Starliner can be an important part of our ability to ensure crew access to the international space station.”

He reiterated Test flight “It is neither safe nor conventional,” the decision was “the result of a commitment to safety.”

NASA will now conduct another phase of the Flight Readiness Review to determine when to bring the empty Starliner back to Earth.

Despite multiple delays to the return, Boeing officials insisted at a news conference that Starliner could safely return astronauts to Earth in an emergency. NASA said there were “technical disagreements” between the agency and the aerospace company and that its risk assessment for returning crew members differed from Boeing’s.

Still, NASA officials have repeatedly expressed support for Boeing, and Nelson said he is “100 percent certain” Starliner will one day be able to launch humans again.

“We continue to focus on the safety of our crew and spacecraft,” Boeing said in a statement. statement Saturday on X. “We are executing the mission as NASA has determined, and we are preparing for a safe and successful unmanned return of the spacecraft.”

NASA officials made a unanimous decision to choose SpaceX to return the astronauts to Earth, said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s deputy administrator.

In the meantime, SpaceX will carry two astronauts aboard its Crew-9 spacecraft (instead of the originally planned four) to make room for Wilmore and Williams.

“SpaceX stands ready to provide NASA with any support we can.” President and COO Gwynne Shotwell responds In X’s social media posts.

Boeing’s Starliner space capsule “Calypso” It has been on mission to the International Space Station since early June, but NASA has extended its mission indefinitely as the agency and the company try to figure out why multiple spacecraft have been Thruster failure during docking.

The thrusters, part of the spacecraft’s propulsion system and key to Starliner’s safe return from the International Space Station, are an ongoing issue, NASA noted Saturday.

The Starliner crew flight test was supposed to be Boeing’s last mission and a major asset NASA acquired. NASA wanted to realize its dream of having two competing companies – Boeing and Elon MuskSpaceX — performs alternating missions to the International Space Station.

Instead, the flight test further hindered Boeing’s progress in NASA’s commercial crew spaceflight program and Losses of more than $1.5 billion has been absorbed, threatening the company’s future cooperation with it.