Boeing spacecraft to return from ISS without crew

The unmanned Boeing Starliner aircraft will leave two astronauts behind on the International Space Station after it developed issues that prevented it from carrying a crew, NASA said Saturday. Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams flew to the ISS in June aboard the Boeing Starliner in question. The agency originally scheduled for the two to stay on the ISS for less than two weeks. The duo will now not return until February 2025 at the earliest.

What happened to the Starliner? NASA and Boeing identified a helium leak on the vessel during its trip up to the ISS, the agency said. Observers also noticed issues with the spacecraft’s thrusters. Experts reviewing the data from the craft could not come to a consensus about whether it was safe for the vessel to carry astronauts back to Earth. NASA decided the craft would not carry the astronauts upon its return.

What is Boeing’s response to the news? The decision to leave the astronauts on the ISS and return the craft to Earth without them reflected NASA’s commitment to the safety of its space crews, the agency said. Boeing remained committed to the safety of the astronauts as well and was preparing the Starliner for a safe, uncrewed return, the company told WORLD.

How will the astronauts get home? Williams and Wilmore will return in February 2025 on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of SpaceX’s scheduled Crew-9 mission, NASA said. SpaceX and NASA originally planned the Crew-9 mission to have four crew members when it flew up to the ISS. The shuttle now will carry only two people up to the space station, NASA said.

Dig deeper: Listen to Paul Butler’s report on The World and Everything in It about the two astronauts’ extended stay on the ISS.