Two NASA astronauts who arrived at the International Space Station in June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft will not return to Earth until next year. They will be assisted by a vehicle from rival SpaceX.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6 on Boeing’s new Starliner.
The original plan is that astronauts will spend only eight days in orbit. However, during the mission, problems occurred with the thruster maneuvering system, so NASA concluded that it will be safer to bring the vehicle to Earth without a crew.
NASA announced Saturday night that astronauts will likely return to Earth in February 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The vehicle will fly to the ISS in September as part of a rotating astronaut mission.
To make room for Wilmore and Williams, NASA to reduce SpaceX mission crew from four to two.
SpaceX is a direct competitor to Boeing in the area of spaceflight.
