Boeing’s test pilots on its new Starliner spacecraft face uncertainty aboard the International Space Station as NASA considers plans to bring them home. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been aboard the ISS for more than 60 days as Boeing and NASA conducted extensive testing on an identical capsule at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico to determine the cause of Starliner’s failing thrusters.
One plan NASA is considering, the agency said on Aug. 7, is to bring Wilmore and Williams back on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in February 2025, which would leave the two astronauts aboard the ISS for another six months. NASA previously planned to launch Crew-9 to the space station in September. The agency expects to have a final decision on a course of action by mid-August.
Leaks in the helium-based propulsion system delayed the original launch by more than a month, and persisting leaks after liftoff led to mu
