Nasa announced on Saturday that the two will be brought home from the International Space Station (ISS) with one of SpaceX’s spacecraft – early next year.
The decision is considered a major prestige defeat for Boeing, which has had major problems with its Starliner capsule. They had hoped the trip would restore confidence in the project after years of development problems and more than $1.6 billion in budget overruns since 2016.
It is ten years since Nasa ordered new spacecraft to send crews to and from the ISS, after the space shuttles were retired. The mission went to two companies, SpaceX and Boeing. SpaceX won the race to deliver first by a clear margin, and has had its Dragon vessels in operation for four years.
Salt in the wound
That the task of providing the return journey goes to the fiercest competitor in the aerospace industry rubs salt in the wound for crisis-stricken Boeing. Quality problems in the production of passenger aircraft, the company’s most important product, have characterized the American aviation giant for several years.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are both former test pilots in the US military. They became the first to fly the Starliner on June 5.
They were going to the ISS for what was scheduled to be an eight-day trip. However, the journey did not go as planned. During the first 24 hours, five of the 28 propulsion units on board failed. There were also several leaks of helium, which is used in the propulsion system.
In a rare rearrangement of the schedule for Nasa astronauts, the two astronauts are now expected to return in February 2025.
Empty seats
The Crew Dragon craft that will retrieve them will launch next month as part of a routine change of guard on the ISS.
However, two of the vessel’s four seats will be empty – to make room for Wilmore and Williams on their way back.
Starliner will disconnect from the ISS without a crew and attempt to return to Earth as it would have with astronauts on board.
Nasa chief Bill Nelson said at a press conference in Houston on Saturday that he has discussed the matter with Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg.
– He expressed that they will continue the work to solve the problems when the Starliner is safely back, he said.
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2024-08-25 17:37:15
