NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore To Return on SpaceX Vehicle Next Year 

NASA has announced that astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) in June on Boeing's Starliner capsule, will return to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year. 

As per NASA, decision was made because problems with Starliner's propulsion system were deemed too risky for their return trip. Boeing's Starliner is a new space capsule made to carry people to space and back, and it's being developed with NASA's help.

Meanwhile, astronauts Wilmore and Williams, who flew to the ISS in June, have been working on research, maintenance, and testing related to Starliner. 

“Decisions like this are never easy, but I want to commend our NASA and Boeing teams for their thorough analysis, transparent discussions, and focus on safety during the Crew Flight Test,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, in a statement. 

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While highlighting that they have learned a lot about the spacecraft, Bowersox said, “We also will continue to gather more data about Starliner during the uncrewed return and improve the system for future flights to the space station.”

NASA and Boeing discovered helium leaks and problems with the spacecraft's thrusters on June 6 as Starliner neared the space station. Since then, they have been busy analysing data, conducting tests, seeking expert reviews, and creating backup plans for the spacecraft's return.

Wilmore and Williams will keep working with their team until February 2025. They will return to Earth on a Dragon spacecraft with two other astronauts from NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Crew-9 is SpaceX's ninth mission to send astronauts to and from the space station.

“Starliner is expected to depart from the space station and make a safe, controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September,” NASA said in a statement. 

“Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe nor routine. The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star,” said Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, in a statement.