The Boeing Starliner astronauts who were stuck in space for nearly three months will have to stay there longer… because they won’t return to Earth until next year.
At a press conference on Saturday, NASA Administrator bill nelson explained Butch Wilmore and sonny williams It is expected to return in February 2025…and for safety reasons, the Boeing Starliner will return unmanned.
That would take another six months for the pair…a far cry from the nine-day mission they originally planned.
Remember…the two astronauts returned on June 5 with a return date of June 14 – however, a helium leak and propulsion issues left them stranded on the International Space Station.
NASA was considering whether the two could fly back on Starliner, and Boeing was convinced they could… However, NASA won that argument, and the team has been stuck in February or March.
Now, a SpaceX spacecraft will bring the crew back…but that will take six months, by which time SpaceX’s next Dragon mission will be completed. The pair will pilot the four-person spacecraft during liftoff and take the astronauts home once the mission is complete.
There’s a problem… an astronaut trapped in space Gear compatible A starliner, not a Dragon, is coming to pick them up – so, they need new spacesuits.
NASA is trying to emphasize that the two astronauts are not actually stranded in space… it’s hard to look at it any other way, though, since they can’t seem to put them down.