Another Blow to Boeing: NASA Says SpaceX Will Bring Starliner Astronauts Home From ISS

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule volition bring Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore backmost location from the International Space Station successful February 2025, NASA said connected Saturday.

The agency’s determination marks the latest setback for Boeing’s costly and chronically delayed Starliner program, and it means extending the astronauts’ intended eight-day travel to a full of 8 months.

Since Boeing archetypal landed its $4.3 cardinal declaration with NASA successful 2014, the Starliner effort has gone much than $1.5 billion implicit budget, pursuing a botched archetypal trial formation and a slew of consequent issues, including faulty parachutes, flammable protective tape, rust accumulation, an contented involving an oxygen tank’s pressure regularisation valve, and astir recently, helium leaks that could compromise the vehicle’s thrusters.

Still presently docked astatine the International Space Station, the Boeing Starliner volition instrumentality to Earth uncrewed, successful spite of Boeing’s stance that the Starliner is susceptible of carrying Williams and Wilmore location safely.