Two astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station aboard a Boeing Troubled Starliner NASA announced Tuesday that the rover will not return to Earth until at least March 2025, more than six months ago.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams traveled to the space station Back on the Starliner in June. Their journey was initially scheduled to last only eight to 10 days, but several issues with the Starliner worried NASA, prompting caution. to leave them behind on the space station And return the capsule to Earth empty in September.
That same month, a SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule reduced two-person crew And two empty seats were launched to the space station with the intention of returning Wilmore and Williams in February 2025.
However, NASA said in a news release Tuesday that Wilmore and Williams' replacements, aboard SpaceX Crew-10, will launch to the space station “before the end of March 2025,” meaning Wilmore and Williams would be at the earliest. Will be. Will return to earth.
The most recent delay in Crew-10's launch is to “give NASA and SpaceX teams time to complete processing on a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission.”
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Crew-9 – carrying Williams, Wilmore, fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov – can leave the space station only after a “handover period” with Crew-10.
The handover period “allows Crew-9 to share any lessons learned with the newly arrived crew and better support the transition to ongoing science and maintenance at the complex.”
NASA did not estimate how long the handover might take.
Boeing's answer to Crew Dragon, Starliner has faced major obstacles since entering development, including numerous technical issues and budget constraints.
It eventually launched, but after reaching the space station with its crew, several helium leaks were discovered in the Starliner's propulsion system, as well as a weak thrust in its five maneuvering jets.
A return to late March or April would mean that a trip that was expected to last just over a week for Williams and Wilmore would stretch to at least nine months.
“The construction, assembly, testing and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement about Crew-10 on Tuesday. ” “We appreciate the hard work of the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions, and the flexibility of the station schedule and expedition team as we work together to complete the preparation of the new capsule for flight. “
Contributed to this report.