The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) may not return to Earth until February 2025, according to NASA.
At a press conference on July 7, 2024, NASA’s Steve Stich, who manages the Commercial Crew Program, said one plan under consideration is for astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams to travel back onboard a SpaceX capsule.
SpaceX’s Dragon Crew-9 was delayed itself on August 6, 2024, with a new launch date set for September 2024, that could see two seats left free for the Starliner crew.
“Our prime option is to return Butch and Suni on Starliner. However, we have done the requisite planning to make sure we have other options open,” Stich said.
According to The Guardian, a Boeing spokesperson said if Starliner’s mission is changed, it “will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return”.
Issues with Starliner’s thrusters have meant that the crew’s initial plan for around a week on the space station had to be extended.
At the recent press conference Stich suggested that there had been some disagreements between NASA and Boeing about the path forward.
The Boeing Starliner capsule launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on June 5, 2024.
In June 2024, a spokesperson for Boeing said that the helium leaks and most of the thruster problems were no longer an issue affecting the Starliner’s return.
On July 23, 2024, NASA confirmed that engineers had recently completed ground hot fire testing of a Starliner reaction control system thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.