LIFE
NASA announced on Saturday that Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who traveled to the International Space Station in June aboard Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsule, will need to return to Earth early next year on a SpaceX vehicle. The decision was made after the agency determined that issues with Starliner’s propulsion system posed too great a risk for carrying its first crew back home. Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which launched Williams and Wilmore to the ISS on June 5, was intended to be an eight-day test mission aimed at redeeming the program after years of development problems and over $1.6 billion in budget overruns since 2016. However, the Starliner encountered several issues, including the failure of five out of its 28 thrusters and helium leaks used for pressurizing the propulsion system, causing extensive delays. NASA chief Bill Nelson, speaking at a news conference in Houston, mentioned that he discussed the situation with Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg. “He expressed to me an intention that they will continue to work the problems once Starliner is back safely,” Nelson said. Boeing, which is also dealing with quality issues in its commercial airplane production, faces significant challenges with the Starliner program. Due to the problems with Starliner, NASA has opted to use a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, set to launch next month as part of a routine astronaut rotation mission, to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth in February 2025. Two seats on the Crew Dragon will be kept vacant for their return. None
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