Two astronauts who have spent months aboard the International Space Station will have to stay in space until 2025 after NASA decided Saturday that it's too risky to bring them back to Earth aboard Boeing's troubled Starliner space vehicle. Instead, the space agency has tapped Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring the pair home.
What should have been a weeklong test flight will now last the pilots, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, more than eight months.
"A test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine," said Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, during a news conference. "So the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety."
In the past few weeks, Boeing, a leading aerospace company, has experienced setbacks in its civilian aviation and defense divisions. The failed Starliner test flight is yet another eyesore the company must face.
In 2024, NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX to design and develop spacecraft to transport astronauts to and from the ISS. Under the contract, NASA was expected to pay Boeing upwards of $4.2 billion to develop Starliner.
Upon completion, Starliner was meant to launch yearly transporting crews of four. Under the fixed contract, Boeing has already written off $1.6 billion in costs for Starliner.
Despite NASA's decision, Boeing said it still committed to safety.
"Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft," the company said in a statement. "We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return."
Boeing was not a part of Saturday's press conference with NASA.
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Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are both retired Navy captains with previous long-duration spaceflight experience.
Before their June 5 launch from Cape Canaveral, both test pilots said their families bought into the uncertainty and stress of their professional careers decades ago.
The pair were meant to stay in the ISS for as little as eight days, but the test flight showed issues with Starliner's thrusters.
Even after engineering analysis and lengthy ground tests, the company could not conclude why the thrusters malfunctioned before docking in June.
The test flight was the first with people aboard the spacecraft, and it was expected that their stay could have been extended.
And with the uncertainty about how the thrusters could perform "It was just too much risk for the crew, so we decided to pursue the uncrewed test flight," said Steve Stitch manager of NASA's commercial crew program.
Bay Area Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, a ranking member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and Eric Sorensen said they commend NASA and Boeing's commitment to safety.
"We thank astronauts Wilmore and Williams for their heroic teamwork, patience, and flexibility on the Crew Flight test mission, and we look forward to their safe return home," the statement read. "The concerning events leading to today's decision must be understood and addressed."
Starliner will undock and return to earth in the next few weeks without any passengers.
Currently, SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which is parked at the ISS, is reserved for four other residents who have been there since March. They are expected to return in late September after their initial stay was extended by a month due to the Starliner issue. NASA determined it would be unsafe for Wilmore and Williams to squeeze into the capsule.
SpaceX's next taxi will launch in late September with only two astronauts to make room for Wilmore and Williams on the return flight in February 2025.
Dana Weigle of NASA's ISS Program said Wilmore and Williams will have enough supplies to last till February.
"While on board, they will do research on the space station and may have spacewalks at the end of the expedition," Weigle said.
