Boeing Starliner returns empty, NASA will use SpaceX to transport astronauts | Wilnesh News

boeing company The agency announced Saturday that it will return its Starliner capsule from the International Space Station in early June, but it will not launch astronauts into orbit.

With Starliner returning to Earth without a payload, NASA will now have astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which is expected to launch on September 24 The agency is on its ninth routine mission to the International Space Station.

Ultimately, Wilmore and Williams will stay on the International Space Station for about six more months before flying home aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 vehicle in February. The test flight was originally planned to last about nine days.

The decision to return Starliner empty from the International Space Station marks a dramatic shift for NASA and Boeing, as the two organizations had previously insisted that space capsules were the first option for returning crews.

But the “Starliner” manned flight test, considered the last major milestone in spacecraft development, has faced problems – most notably its propulsion system.

“Boeing worked very hard with NASA to get the information needed to make this decision,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a news conference with senior NASA officials on Saturday at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We hope to further understand the root cause and understand design improvements so that Boeing Starliner will be an important part of our assurance of crew access to the International Space Station. “

he reiterated test flight “It is neither safe nor routine” and the decision was “a result of a commitment to safety”.

NASA will now conduct another phase of flight readiness review to determine when to bring the empty Starliner home.

Boeing officials insisted at a news conference that Starliner could safely fly astronauts home in the event of an emergency, despite multiple delays in returning. NASA said there were “technical differences” between the agency and the airline and said its risk assessment for returning crew members differed from Boeing’s.

Still, NASA officials have repeatedly expressed support for Boeing, with Nielsen saying he was “100 percent certain” that Starliner could one day launch humans again.

“We continue to focus first and foremost on the safety of the crew and spacecraft,” Boeing said in a statement. statement Posted on X on Saturday. “We are executing on the mission identified by NASA, and we are preparing for the safe and successful unmanned return of the spacecraft.”

NASA Deputy Administrator Ken Bowersox said NASA officials unanimously decided to choose SpaceX to bring the astronauts home.

Meanwhile, SpaceX will carry two astronauts aboard its Crew-9 spacecraft (instead of the originally planned four) to make room for Wilmore and Williams.

“SpaceX stands ready to support @NASA in any way we can,” Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer responded In X’s social media posts.

Boeing’s Starliner capsule “Calypso” has been on a mission to the International Space Station since early June, and NASA has extended the mission indefinitely as the agency and companies try to figure out why multiple of the spacecraft’s thrusters failed during the docking process. .

These thrusters are part of the spacecraft’s propulsion system and are key to Starliner’s safe return from the International Space Station. NASA said Saturday that the thrusters are an ongoing problem.

The Starliner crew flight test was supposed to be the final check for Boeing and a critical asset acquired by NASA. The agency hopes to realize its dream of having two competing companies – Boeing Co and Elon Musk’s SpaceX – take turns flying missions to the International Space Station.

Instead, the flight test further hampered Boeing’s progress in NASA’s commercial crew program and has absorbed more than $1.5 billion in losses, threatening the company’s future participation in the program.