NASA Astronauts’ Return To Earth Is Delayed Again Until At Least Late March 2025

On Wednesday, 7 August, NASA announced that U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who launched for an eight-day mission in June, may remain on the International Space Station (ISS) until 2025 if their Boeing Starliner spacecraft cannot be repaired for their return journey.

Starliner is still considered unsafe for their return to Earth, so astronauts might return on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in 2025.

Astronauts To Remain In Space Longer Than Expected

Updated on 18th December

NASA has announced on Tuesday, 17th December, that the return of its two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will be delayed once again. Their mission, set initially to end sooner, will now extend until spring.

According to NASA, the pair won’t return until the end of March or even April because of a delay in launching their replacements. A new crew must be sent up before Wilmore and Williams can return, and the next mission has been postponed by over a month.

This marks nearly 10 months since they launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule.

Discussion About Starliner Astronauts’ Return Home

The U. S. space agency has been exploring options with SpaceX to leave two seats vacant on an upcoming Crew Dragon launch, which was delayed by a month on Tuesday. This plan is part of NASA and Boeing’s efforts to determine how to safely return the astronauts home.

Starliner has been docked at the ISS for 63 of the 90 days it is allowed to stay. It is occupying the same docking port that Crew Dragon will need to use for the upcoming astronaut crew.

Earlier, NASA has rescheduled the SpaceX Crew-9 launch for after September 24. It was originally planned for mid-August.

A Boeing spokesperson stated that if NASA decides to alter Starliner’s mission, the company “will take the necessary steps to prepare Starliner for an uncrewed return.” A Boeing executive was not present at the Wednesday press conference.

Previously, on 2 August, the company expressed that it “remains highly confident in Starliner’s ability to return with crew.”

Any Agreement About Astronauts’ Safe Return?

As reported at Wednesday’s news conference, this week’s meeting of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which oversees Starliner, ended with some officials disagreeing about using Boeing’s testing data and the plan to use Starliner to bring the astronauts home.

“We heard from a lot of folks that had concerns, and the decision was not clear,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s space operations chief.

What’s With Starliner Now?

Boeing’s testing so far has revealed that four of Starliner’s thrusters failed in June due to overheating and automatic shutdowns. Additionally, some other thrusters that were tested showed weaker performance than expected because of restrictions in their propellant flow.

Astronauts Wilmore and Williams are now helping with station operations while Starliner stays docked at the ISS.

Background

The astronauts’ test mission on 5 June was supposed to last about eight days on the ISS. However, it has been extended due to problems with Starliner’s propulsion system. These issues have raised concerns about whether the spacecraft can safely bring them back to Earth as planned. 

In July, Boeing reported that engineers found problems with the Starliner after extensive testing, such as sudden thruster failures and helium leaks.

The full timeline of Starliner crew setbacks and flight delays you can read here.