NASA Reveals Its Plan to Get Stranded Astronauts Home

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may have to hitch a ride back down to Earth from the International Space Station on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule in 2025, NASA announced Saturday.

The $1.5 billion Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which got Williams and Wilmore onto the ISS, had “helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters on June 6,” as it docked on the ISS, according to NASA.

While Boeing insisted on Aug. 2 that its “confidence remains high… based on this abundance of valuable testing from Boeing and NASA,” NASA decided it was best not to accept “more risk than necessary.”

The Starliner capsule will instead return to Earth unmanned, and Wilmore and Williams, who have been on the ISS for almost 80 days, will stay on the craft possibly until Feb. 2025, according to NASA.

“The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star,” the agency added. “The uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, thus prompting NASA leadership to move the astronauts to the Crew-9 mission.”

The Crew-9 mission, which was intended to carry four passengers, will now have to adjust its “cargo, personal effects, and Dragon-specific spacesuits,” to accommodate Wilmore and Williams.

“Decisions like this are never easy, but I want to commend our NASA and Boeing teams for their thorough analysis, transparent discussions, and focus on safety during the Crew Flight Test,” Ken Bowersox, an associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said during a Saturday press conference.

The Crew-9 vessel is set to launch “no earlier than September 24,” according to NASA.