On Saturday, NASA announced that the Boeing Starliner crew will remain aboard the International Space Station until February, noting that the decision was made due to safety concerns.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson held a press conference on Saturday to share the news, noting that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who docked at the ISS in June, will return next year via SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
The astronauts initially ventured into space on Boeing’s Starliner shuttle, which has since been a point of contention over concerns and speculation that it was not safe to return on.
“The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety,” Nelson said.
Nelson added that safety is the space agency’s “North Star” and that they would do everything possible to ensure Williams and Wilmore return to Earth as safely as possible.
“Boeing has worked very hard with NASA to get the necessary data to make this decision. We want to further understand the root causes and understand the design improvements so that the Boeing Starliner will serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS,” Nelson said.
The Starliner shuttle took off for the ISS on June 5 after numerous delays due to thruster failures and helium leaks.
What was meant to be an eight-day mission has since turned into a months-long trip aboard the ISS.
The Starliner capsule will return to Earth in September, unmanned, NASA shared.
NASA’s associate administrator, James Free, added that Boeing and NASA will continue to work together and ensure that the Starliner shuttle is where it needs to be in order for NASA to utilize it.
“I’ll tell you that the NASA and Boeing team have made incredible technical progress in the model development that has gone on the thruster testing, understanding material properties within the valve and the complicated fluid physics that are happening inside,” Free said on Saturday. “We will continue to learn. We are a learning organization.”