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The two Boeing astronauts left stranded on the ISS have had their return to Earth delayed by at least another month.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will now not come home until “no earlier than late March 2025”, back from February, to allow for more “complete processing” for a new SpaceX Dragon capsule.
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The pair were due to spend just a week on the space laboratory but problems with the Boeing-made Starliner’s thrusters meant NASA eventually decided to return the astronauts eight months later on a rival SpaceX launch vehicle.
On Wednesday, NASA said the SpaceX Crew-10 is targeting no earlier than late March 2025 to launch four crew members to the International Space Station.
The space agency said the change gives teams time to complete processing on a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission. The new spacecraft is set to arrive to the company’s processing facility in Florida in early January.
“Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” said Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight.”
NASA and SpaceX have assessed options for managing the next crewed handover, including using another Dragon spacecraft and making manifest adjustments.
“After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025,” it said.
Despite the challenges, Starliner eventually returned to Earth safely in September, but uncrewed, in a vindication for Boeing’s engineers.
Crucially, NASA reported no issues with its manoeuvres, with all 27 working thrusters performing as expected and the spacecraft following a “perfect trajectory” home.
Williams told the team, “You guys are the best,” when it touched down.
Ken Bowersox, a NASA associate administrator, heaped praise on the team for bringing Starliner back safely.
“Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible,” Bowerosox said.
“NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed toward certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station.”
Despite the positive return, Boeing executives later failed to attend the post-landing press conference.
