NASA announced that astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams will return to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft in February next year.
The announcement at today’s press conference ends months of speculation about the best plan to safely return astronauts to Earth after a malfunction on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft caused its departure from the International Space Station to be postponed until June. NASA has now decided to return Starliner with Wilmore and Williams in September. They will remain with the existing space station crew and are scheduled to return next year on SpaceX’s Crew 9 mission.
“Boeing has worked hard with NASA to obtain the data necessary to make this decision,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a press conference. “We want to further understand the root causes and understand where design improvements can be made to ensure Boeing Starliner can be a vital part of ensuring crew access to the ISS.”
Wilmore and Williams launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 5, becoming the first astronauts to fly on a manned test flight of Starliner, a capsule developed by Boeing for transporting crewed passengers to the International Space Station.
During approach to the space station, five of Starliner’s 28 thrusters stopped functioning, but the crew was able to repair four of them and successfully dock with the space station, where they discovered that Starliner’s propulsion system was also leaking helium in multiple places.
Boeing and NASA have been conducting ground tests of analog equipment to better understand the thrusters and the helium leak problem. NASA Associate Administrator Jim Freeh cited “uncertainty” about “the physics going on inside the thrusters” as the primary reason for delaying Wilmore and Williams’ return.
“This was not an easy decision,” Freeh added, “but it is absolutely the right decision.”
Wilmore and Williams were originally scheduled to stay on the ISS for about a week before returning to Earth aboard Starliner. But their return was delayed by more than two months as mission planners struggled to determine the cause of the thruster issues and assess the risk of using Starliner for the return flight. Under NASA’s plan, they will stay on the ISS for a total of eight months, which is longer than the usual six-month stay but not unprecedented.
Instead of sending a four-person crew to the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft in September as planned, two of the capsule’s seats will be reserved for Wilmore and Williams. New Dragon spacesuits for the astronauts and other needed supplies are expected to be delivered to the ISS in the coming months.
NASA has emphasized that Wilmore and Williams are not “stranded” or in any danger, and the astronauts have publicly framed the extension as a blessing that will allow them more time in space.
“I’m having a great time aboard the ISS,” Williams told reporters. During a conference call in July From the ISS: “Butch and I have been here before, so it feels like we’re coming home. It feels good to be floating. It feels good to be in space and working with the team on the International Space Station.”
