NASA will return Boeing\u2019s Starliner to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the spacecraft. The uncrewed return allows NASA and Boeing to continue gathering testing data on Starliner during its upcoming flight home, while also not accepting more risk than necessary for its crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilmore and Williams, who flew to the International Space Station in June aboard NASA\u2019s Boeing Crew Flight Test, have been busy supporting station research, maintenance, and Starliner system testing and data analysis, among other activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSpaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing\u2019s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star,\u201d said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to both the NASA and Boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wilmore and Williams will continue their work formally as part of the Expedition 71\/72 crew through February 2025. They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency\u2019s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Starliner is expected to depart from the space station and make a safe, controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters on June 6 as Starliner approached the space station. Since then, engineering teams have completed a significant amount of work, including reviewing a collection of data, conducting flight and ground testing, hosting independent reviews with agency propulsion experts, and developing various return contingency plans. The uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency\u2019s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, thus prompting NASA leadership to move the astronauts to the Crew-9 mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDecisions 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,\u201d said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Space Operations Mission Directorate. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned a lot about the spacecraft during its journey to the station and its docked operations. We also will continue to gather more data about Starliner during the uncrewed return and improve the system for future flights to the space station.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Starliner is designed to operate autonomously and previously completed two uncrewed flights. NASA and Boeing will work together to adjust end-of-mission planning and Starliner\u2019s systems to set up for the uncrewed return in the coming weeks. Starliner must return to Earth before the Crew-9 mission launches to ensure a docking port is available on station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStarliner is a very capable spacecraft and, ultimately, this comes down to needing a higher level of certainty to perform a crewed return,\u201d said Steve Stich, manager of NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program. \u201cThe NASA and Boeing teams have completed a tremendous amount of testing and analysis, and this flight test is providing critical information on Starliner\u2019s performance in space. Our efforts will help prepare for the uncrewed return and will greatly benefit future corrective actions for the spacecraft.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program requires spacecraft fly a crewed test flight to prove the system is ready for regular flights to and from the space station. Following Starliner\u2019s return, the agency will review all mission-related data to inform what additional actions are required to meet NASA\u2019s certification requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency\u2019s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, originally slated with four crew members, will launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 24. The agency will share more information about the Crew-9 complement when details are finalized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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