The two NASA astronauts stuck on the International Space Station by the issue-plague Boeing Starliner now have to wait a little longer to return to Earth. NASA announced on December 17 that February’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission has been pushed back until March at the earliest. The delay will allow SpaceX more time to complete processing on a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission.
The Boeing Crew Test Flight was initially planned as an eight-day when Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams strapped into the Starliner last June. Technical problems that appeared during the spacecraft’s rendezvous with the ISS delayed the scheduled return as engineers on the ground determined the severity of the issue. However, NASA decided to return the Starliner to Earth empty so no one would be onboard if something went wrong.
The SpaceX Crew-9 mission launched in late September with two empty seats to bring Wilmore and Williams home at its conclusion. Crew-9 can’t return until Crew-10 arrives and there’s a transitional handover period to ensure the station’s operations continue smoothly. This latest delay will make the two stranded astronauts’ stay in space at least ten months long. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said:
“Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail. 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.”
Hopefully, Wilmore and Williams will get back to terra firma in March. For the Boeing Starliner, NASA has no planned flights for the spacecraft but is leaving open the possibility of a launch in 2025. Boeing is considering selling off its entire space division amid the costly debacle with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin as a potential customer.
