NASA: Boeing and SpaceX’s return to Earth mission was flawed

Two U.S. astronauts who arrived at the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner will have to return to Earth aboard rival SpaceX, NASA said Saturday.

“NASA has determined that Butch and Sunny will return with Crew-9 in February of next year, and Starliner will return unmanned,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters.

The return of Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Sunny” Williams was delayed due to a Boeing thruster failure on the spacecraft.

The decision creates a new public relations headache for Boeing, as it means the two astronauts will have to spend a total of eight months in orbit, rather than the eight days originally planned.

After years of delays in Starliner development, the spacecraft finally lifted off in early June, carrying veteran astronauts Wilmore and Williams to the International Space Station.

But NASA had to postpone the return indefinitely while it investigated problems with the spacecraft’s propulsion system.

Boeing and NASA engineers were concerned that Starliner might not have enough propulsion to break out of orbit and begin its descent toward Earth.

NASA officials said Saturday they had chosen a highly unusual option, not to bring the astronauts back from the flying laboratory on their own spacecraft, but rather on a SpaceX flight previously scheduled for February.

Under the new plan, the SpaceX Crew-9 mission will take off in late September, but will carry only two passengers instead of the originally planned four.

It will remain docked at the International Space Station until its planned return in February, bringing back its own crew and two stranded colleagues.

The move is further damaging to the already tarnished image of U.S. aviation giant Boeing, whose aircraft division has been plagued by concerns about safety and quality control in recent years.

Ten years ago, after retiring the space shuttle, NASA ordered new spacecraft from Boeing and SpaceX that could carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

NASA believes that if two such vehicles are available, there will be another as a backup if one has a problem.

But Elon Musk’s SpaceX beat Boeing to the punch and has become the only vehicle used to transport astronauts for the past four years.

This year’s crewed interplanetary flight, which came after years of delays and disappointments in the vehicle’s development, was supposed to be the final test before the spacecraft could be put into regular operation.

NASA said the astronauts on the International Space Station have adequate supplies, are trained for a long-term stay, and have a large number of experiments to carry out.