According to NBC News, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are stranded at the International Space Station, might have to stay until February.
They were supposed to stay a week, but the Boeing Starliner had Helium leaks and thruster problems. It might not be safe to take the astronauts home.
They also can’t undock safely, and Boeing is considering bringing them back on Elon Musk’s Crew Dragon. People can’t agree on the best option.
For the first time today NASA officials publicly discussed internal dissent about the safety of Starliner. While no final decisions have been made, the doubts spoken aloud today indicate Dragon is probably the more likely ride home for Butch and Suni.https://t.co/JAHyHJ1ngx
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) August 7, 2024
In the meantime, the launch of one of SpaceX’s Dragon capsules — which was slated to launch four new crew members to the space station later this month — has been postponed to give NASA and Boeing more time to deal with the Starliner problems.
The SpaceX mission (known as Crew-9) is delayed by about a month. NASA officials said they could alter the plan and send two crew members to space on that vehicle instead of four, then use the capsule to bring Wilmore and Williams home.
NASA will decide in mid-August.
This was supposed to be the flight to certify Boeing’s Starliner for routine trips.
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