The two NASA astronauts holed up aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft are scheduled to return home around July 20.
This is 45 days from launch on June 5th, the period during which Starliner can dock with the International Space Station (ISS).
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were originally scheduled to stay for a week, but a series of problems, including a recent helium leak and thruster trouble, have caused their return to be postponed multiple times.
“Operating in space, especially building a crewed spacecraft for a private company, is a new endeavor and remains highly technical,” Makenna Young, a research associate at the Aerospace and Space Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Fox News Digital. “If something goes wrong, it’s a very hostile operating environment. When you’re in space, you can’t just take it to a repair shop.”
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“The aurora streams beneath the Boeing Starliner spacecraft docked to the Harmony module’s forward port as the International Space Station rises 266 miles above the Indian Ocean, southwest of Australia,” according to NASA. (NASA/Matt Dominik)
NASA and Boeing did not immediately respond to questions from Fox News Digital.
Boeing He told Newsweek magazine Late Tuesday afternoon, it said the helium leak and thruster issues had been largely stabilized and there were “no concerns” about Starliner’s safe return.
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Boeing told Newsweek that only one of Starliner’s 27 propulsion units is offline, and that four of the five that were shut down are working properly.
A return date has yet to be officially decided, but Reuters reported, citing NASA sources, that the new planned date is July 6.
NASA’s Expedition 71 crew with Starliner crew flight test members Suni Williams (first row from left) and Butch Wilmore (first row from right). (NASA)
NASA’s latest announcement was on Monday, with Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), saying the team was “taking its time and following standard mission management team processes.”
“Starliner is performing smoothly in orbit while docked with the space station,” Stich said in a statement.
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“We are strategically using this extra time to complete preparations for the return of Butch and Suni aboard Starliner and pave the way for several key station activities while gaining valuable insight into the systems upgrades we want to implement for the post-certification mission.”
The astronauts’ families declined to comment and did not return calls from Fox News Digital.
“This is a critically important mission. A delay like this seems like a bad thing and it could undermine confidence. But it’s really important that when we say, ‘Yes, we’re ready to launch humans,’ there’s no doubt in the back of our minds.”
This handout photo released by the Roscosmos state space corporation shows the crew of the Russian Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft after it detached from the International Space Station on March 30, 2022. (Roscosmos State Space Corporation, via The Associated Press, File)
Why is this mission important?
The SpaceX program, funded by Boeing and Elon Musk, plays a vital role in NASA’s CCP, allowing the agency to send astronauts and cargo to the ISS without relying on Russia.
Young said NASA paid Russia about $2 billion to send 30 astronauts back to the ISS after retiring the space shuttle in 2011.
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Instead of paying “exorbitant costs” to hostile nations, NASA has decided to rely on private US companies to send humans to the space station.
“This is a critically important mission,” Young said. “These delays seem like a bad thing, and they can undermine confidence in the system, but it’s really important that when we say, ‘Yes, we’re ready to launch humans,’ there’s no doubt in the back of our minds. And there absolutely has to be questions.”
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In this Saturday, April 24, 2021 photo released by NASA, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule approaches the International Space Station for docking. (Associated Press via NASA)
This was Boeing’s first mission to send humans to the ISS, but SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has completed several successful flights.
Young said the predicament just shows the need for at least two credible options for getting to and from the ISS.
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After those 45 days are up, the Starliner will be able to operate for another 72 days on backup power, Young said.
Young said that if for some reason the situation became a major emergency and a race against the clock, SpaceX would likely work with NASA to set up a rescue mission, but he believes the situation will be resolved before it gets to that point.
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“But it’s also important to emphasize that these astronauts will not be left behind because NASA has other reliable, proven systems,” she said.
“That’s why NASA always has redundancies in place, so if something goes wrong with one program, the other programs can easily take over.”
In this handout photo provided by NASA, STS-118 Mission Specialist Astronaut Rick Mastracchio participates in the mission’s third spacewalk planning session in space on Aug. 15, 2007, as construction and maintenance of the International Space Station continues. (Photo courtesy of NASA via Getty Images)
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Timeline with upcoming notable dates
- June 5: Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore depart Earth aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft (estimated return date is around June 12).
- June 26: Boeing Starliner’s return to Earth canceled
- Early July: Starliner’s scheduled return to Earth (no official date has been set, but Reuters, citing NASA sources, reported July 6 as the target date)
- July 20: 45 days after the launch of Starliner. The spacecraft can dock with the International Space Station for 45 days.
- September 30: Starliner’s backup power supply lasted 72 days. (Young said the spacecraft can run for 72 days on backup power.)
