Starliner Problems: US Astronauts Must Stay on ISS Until February

They were supposed to return to Earth a long time ago, but the return of the American astronauts from the International Space Station has been delayed again. Now NASA wants to pick them up in February, in a SpaceX spacecraft instead of Boeing.

Two astronauts who have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for much longer than originally planned due to problems with Boeing's Starliner are not scheduled to return to Earth until next February.

NASA announced this at a press conference. To do this, the two will use another spacecraft, SpaceX's “Crew Dragon.” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the decision was made for safety reasons.

The mission was only supposed to last one week.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams and her colleague Barry Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station on the first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft in early June. The mission was actually planned for only about a week, but then several technical issues with the Starliner emerged — including a helium leak and engine problems.

NASA then thought for a long time whether it would be better to return the astronauts to Earth in the Starliner spacecraft or – as it has now been announced – months later in the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will launch in September.

Boeing accidents never stop

Boeing's Starliner, which has recently suffered malfunctions, is a partially reusable spacecraft consisting of a three-meter-high capsule for the crew and a service module. Unlike SpaceX's Crew Dragon, it does not land on water, but on land.

In May 2022, Starliner completed a successful unmanned flight to the International Space Station for the first time and spent four days there. It will be used in the future as an alternative to the Crew Dragon space capsule to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.