SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to Bring Home NASA's Boeing Starliner Astronauts in February 2025.

Kate Green
Aug 30, 2024
6 min read

NASA has decided that astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who launched to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in June 2024, will return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February 2025, rather than on the Starliner. This decision follows a series of concerns and setbacks related to the Starliner's thrusters, which have extended the astronauts' stay in orbit far beyond the originally planned eight days.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson confirmed that lessons from the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters influenced this decision. He emphasized the importance of a culture that prioritizes safety and encourages open communication, a response to the issues that led to the loss of both shuttles and their crews. The Challenger disaster in 1986 was caused by a failure in the shuttle's solid rocket booster, and the Columbia disaster in 2003 occurred due to damage sustained during launch, leading to the shuttle's breakup upon re-entry. Nelson stated:

"So, NASA, ever since, has tried very hard to bring about an atmosphere in which people are encouraged to step forward and speak their mind, and I

think, right, today is a good example of that.”

Nelson and NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free highlighted ongoing uncertainty regarding the Starliner's thrusters, noting that further work is required to fully understand the issues. NASA and Boeing will proceed with the uncrewed return of the Starliner in early September 2024, allowing the spacecraft to undergo more thorough testing and data collection. Free stated:

"Uncertainty remains in our understanding of the physics going on in the thrusters. And so, we still have some work to do."

Nelson, later asked if politics played a role in NASA's decision, reiterated the cases of Challenger and Columbia.

"I can tell you unequivocally, from a personal standpoint, that politics has not played any part in this decision. What I said earlier about Challenger and Columbia and the lessons learned and what we've tried to change in a culture,

in order that safety is our North Star, is what we are trying to do. In a very hostile environment in which, if you make a mistake, it's very unforgiving.”

The Crew-9 mission will be modified to accommodate Williams and Wilmore, with the Dragon capsule launching in September 2024 with just two astronauts instead of the usual four. NASA and Boeing will continue to work towards resolving the Starliner's issues, aiming to ensure its safety for future crewed missions.

The timeline of the Starliner program has been marked by innumerable delays and technical challenges since its inception in 2010. These have included software glitches, propulsion system issues, parachute system and wiring harnesses issues, and problems with the spacecraft's thrusters - all leading to repeated postponements of both uncrewed and crewed flights. The Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, which finally launched on June 05, 2024, was plagued by issues during its approach to the ISS, leading to the decision to return the astronauts on a different spacecraft.

Timeline of Issues – July 2010 to August 2024

July 2010: NASA awards Boeing a $92.3 million contract to develop the CST-100 Starliner as part of its Commercial Crew Program, aimed at providing safe and reliable transport to the ISS after the Space Shuttle program is retired. Boeing stated that the capsule would draw upon its experience with NASA's Apollo, Shuttle and ISS programs, as well as the Orbital Express project sponsored by the Department of Defense.
September 2014: NASA officially chooses Boeing and awards an additional $4.2 billion contract to complete development and certify the Starliner for crewed missions, positioning it as a competitor to SpaceX's Crew Dragon. The contracts included at least one crewed flight test with at least one NASA astronaut aboard.
December 20, 2019: Starliner embarks on its first uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT-1), but mission does not go as planned. A series of software glitches prevents the spacecraft from reaching the ISS, forcing it to return to Earth prematurely. Despite this, the landing is deemed successful, demonstrating some aspects of the spacecraft's design and capabilities.
March 2020: NASA and Boeing announced an extensive review of the Starliner's software and systems, leading to a delay in future flights after the failed OFT mission. The Independent Review Team identified several software glitches and gave 80 recommendations for Boeing to address before another uncrewed flight.
August 03, 2021: The second uncrewed test flight, OFT-2, is postponed due to a valve issue in the spacecraft's propulsion system. Boeing undertakes extensive rework and testing to resolve the issue. The launch is delayed several more times, with the new date set for May 2022.
May 19, 2022: After thorough analysis and corrective actions, OFT-2 successfully launches, completing its mission to the ISS and paving the way for the Crew Flight Test (CFT). Starliner stays parked at the ISS for four days.
June 16, 2022: NASA confirms that the CFT mission will be a two-person flight test, consisting of veteran NASA astronauts Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, with Michael Fincke selected as a backup.
July 2023: After various delays bump the planned launch of the Crew Flight Test to July 2023, Boeing announces an indefinite delay due to issues with the parachute system and wiring harnesses, pushing the planned Crew Flight Test to late 2024.
May 06, 2024: Boeing announces that the Crew Flight Test is tentatively set for launch on May 06, but was scrubbed due to an oxygen valve problem on the rocket.
May 18, 2024: A helium leak discovered by NASA engineers scrubs the launch. The launch team deemed the leak a minor issue and clears the Crew Flight Test. Engineers traced the leak to a component on one of the propulsion system's 28 control thrusters used for manoeuvring in Earth's orbit.
June 01, 2024: The flight is again scrubbed just prior to launch after one of the spacecraft's three redundant computers fails to synchronize with the others, just 3 minutes and 50 seconds before liftoff.
June 05, 2024: The CFT finally lifts off on the Atlas V rocket on its third launch attempt, with the crew initially expecting to spend around eight days in orbit as a test-run for the Starliner in its first manned flight, before returning to Earth on June 14.
June 06, 2024: On approach to the ISS, both automated systems failed, with astronauts taking manual control during the docking sequence whilst being instructed to repeatedly fire the RCS thrusters. This stress testing revealed performance degradation in the thrusters, leading the spacecraft software to consider five of them damaged and unusable, and a helium leak developing in the service module. The five failed thrusters were all aft facing, resulting in a loss of six degrees of freedom attitude control until four of them were restored. The astronauts were able to safely dock the capsule to the ISS.
June 14, 2024: Nine days after their arrival at the ISS, the undocking date is pushed back to June 22. The astronauts have a call with Boeing mission managers to discuss the end of the mission, and then enter Starliner to review the spacecraft's flight operations and procedures.
June 22, 2024: Responding to media pressure, Boeing states the problems with Starliner that have caused the astronauts to remain on the ISS were corrected but confirms there are no updates on when the return mission would happen. A Boeing spokesperson said that the helium leaks and majority of thruster problems on the Starliner spacecraft had been deemed stable and "not a concern" for Starliner's return to Earth. Testing in New Mexico were part of this extended evaluation period to ensure the spacecraft's readiness and safety for future missions.
June 26, 2024: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in an interview from the ISS expressed strong confidence in the Boeing Starliner capsule's ability to return them safely to Earth. They said their delayed departure from the ISS was necessary for a full examination of the Starliner's technical issues.
August 24, 2024: NASA announces that Boeing’s Starliner will return Earth in early September without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the spacecraft.
August 24, 2024: Wilmore and Williams will continue their work on the ISS formally as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025. They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Despite all these challenges, NASA and Boeing remain committed to the Starliner program, with the upcoming uncrewed return flight expected to provide critical data for future improvements and certification of the spacecraft for regular missions.

Source: NASA