NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced today that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will not return to Earth on Boeing Starliner and will be aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
“NASA has decided that Butch and Sunny will return with Crew-9 next February and that Starliner will return uncrewed,” he said in a press conference Saturday afternoon. The decision was made following an agency-level review of Starliner’s flight safety risk.
Administrator Nelson added, “Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “I’m grateful to both the NASA and Boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work.”
The Problem With Starliner
NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters on June 6 as Starliner approached the space station.
Since then, engineering teams have completed a significant amount of work, including reviewing a collection of data, conducting flight and ground testing, hosting independent reviews with agency propulsion experts, and developing various return contingency plans. The uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, thus prompting NASA leadership to move the astronauts to the Crew-9 mission.
Crew 9 is currently scheduled to launch NET September 24. However, the crew will be reduced to two astronauts to clear seats for Wilmore and Williams to be aboard next year when Crew 9’s mission on the ISS concludes.
“This has not been an easy decision, but it is the right one,” said Jim Free, NASA’s Associate Administrator. Free thanked the engineers working on the issue, noting that many continued working through significant events such as a death in the family and children returning to school. Free praised those employees for their dedication and effort.
Starliner’s Mission Continues, Albeit With No Crew
For its part, Starliner’s flight will continue, albeit in an uncrewed, automated fashion. NASA stated that a second Readiness Review will be conducted prior to that occurring, and that it would happen soon.
Boeing and NASA engineers have been working on reconfiguring the flight software to allow Starliner to undock and reenter without crew. The completion date was not given.
