USA "Starliner" problems: Nasa won't bring astronauts back until 2025
Two astronauts were supposed to spend just over a week on board the International Space Station ISS, but now it will be more than eight months. Due to problems with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, astronaut Suni Williams and her colleague Barry "Butch" Wilmore will not return to Earth until February 2025. This was announced by the US space agency Nasa. They are to make the return journey from the ISS in another spacecraft, the "Crew Dragon" from the manufacturer SpaceX.
25.08.2024, 10:30
SDA
Nasa boss Bill Nelson justified the eagerly awaited decision with safety concerns about sending the crisis-ridden "Starliner" back to Earth with a crew. Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS at the beginning of June on the first manned test flight of the Starliner.
The mission had actually only been planned for around a week, but then numerous technical problems arose - including problems with the engines and helium leaks. The return flight originally planned for mid-June was canceled and since then the two astronauts have been stuck on the space station 400 kilometers above the Earth.
Astronauts support the plan
He had spoken to the astronauts about the extended stay and they would "fully" support this decision and continue their mission on the ISS, said Nasa manager Norman Knight.
According to the new plan, Williams and Wilmore will now switch to the Crew Dragon from Elon Musk's company SpaceX as passengers next February. Meanwhile, the "Starliner" will return to Earth unmanned. According to Nasa, this step is planned for the beginning of September. The undocking of Boeing's "Starliner" will make room for the arrival of "Crew Dragon".
"Crew Dragon" to fly in September
The launch of "Crew 9" from Cape Canaveral with the "Crew Dragon" is currently scheduled for a date after September 24. Instead of the original four astronauts, there will only be two space travelers. Williams and Wilmore will then become part of this crew and return to Earth with their two colleagues in 2025 after a mission lasting several months.
The 58-year-old and the 61-year-old are experienced astronauts, said Nasa manager Dana Weigel. She emphasized that six to eight months in space is well within the normal range. The duo will help with experiments and maintenance work on the ISS. They may also be able to do some spacewalks at the end of the mission. The supply of food and drinking water is also ensured by further cargo flights. "No one has to go on a diet or restrict their calorie intake," said Weigel.
The "Starliner" from US aerospace company Boeing is a partially reusable spacecraft consisting of an approximately three-metre-high capsule for the crew and a service module. Unlike SpaceX's "Crew Dragon", it does not land on water, but on earth.
Repeated problems and delays
Boeing has been developing the "Starliner" on behalf of NASA for years, but while the "Crew Dragon" now transports people and technology to the ISS largely without any problems, Boeing continues to struggle with difficulties. During the first unmanned test in 2019, the spacecraft did not even arrive at the ISS, while a second test in 2022 was successful, but after that the problems increased again and led to numerous postponements.
After years of delays, the spacecraft set off on its first manned test flight from the Cape Canaveral spaceport at the beginning of June. The technical problems encountered with the engines, unexpected heat build-up and helium leaks are seen as a serious setback for Boeing.
However, Nasa backed the Boeing "Starliner" despite the many glitches. It is a "very powerful" spacecraft, said Nasa manager Steve Stich at the press conference. The Nasa and Boeing teams had carried out an enormous amount of testing and analysis that would help in the future. Nasa boss Nelson emphasized that he had 100 percent confidence that the "Starliner" would take crews to the ISS space station in the future.
