NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, who arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) over 280 days ago aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, are finally preparing to return to Earth. Their extended stay was unexpected, due to thruster problems on the Starliner, which was later brought down empty.
Williams and Wilmore will depart the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, alongside two other astronauts from the Crew-9 team. The Dragon capsule, which will transport the astronauts back to Earth, is scheduled to undock from the ISS on Tuesday evening.
Before their departure, the Crew-10 mission arrived at the ISS, carrying a new crew of astronauts, including NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The Crew-10 mission will take over duties from the Crew-9 team, allowing Williams and Wilmore to return home.
The Starliner’s maiden crewed mission, known as Crew Flight Test, was intended to test its flight and docking capabilities at the ISS. However, a helium leak developed, affecting control of the capsule’s thrusters, which are used for docking and maneuvering. Despite this setback, the Starliner successfully docked at the ISS on June 6.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft was later returned to Earth on September 6, 2024, landing at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Although Williams and Wilmore’s extended mission was unexpected, NASA and Boeing emphasized that the astronauts were not “stranded” on the ISS, as the space station had sufficient resources to accommodate them.
In fact, an uncrewed supply ship delivery, which arrived at the ISS on August 6, included clothes and personal items for Williams and Wilmore. This ensured that the astronauts had everything they needed during their extended stay.
Looking ahead, the future of the Boeing Starliner program is uncertain. In October, NASA announced that it would not be moving forward with the first full crew rotation mission with Starliner in late summer 2025. Instead, NASA will determine the timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established.
NASA is keeping options open for how best to achieve system certification, including potential windows of opportunity for a Starliner flight in 2025. As the space agency continues to work with Boeing to address the technical issues that have plagued the Starliner program, the astronauts who have been part of this journey are finally returning home.
After an unexpected stay of more than nine months, NASA astronauts and Starliner crew members Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore are coming home from the International Space Station this week.
After arriving more than 280 days ago on a Boeing Starliner spacecraft, Williams and Wilmore will return aboard a different vehicle, a SpaceX Dragon. Live coverage begins at 10:45 p.m. EDT today as hatches are closed on the Dragon and the space station.
The two veteran astronauts docked at the space station on June 6 on the first crewed test flight of the Starliner. They were due to return in about a week. Thruster problems on the Starliner, which was later brought down empty, delayed their return flight.
Williams and Wilmore will be leaving with two other astronauts of the space station’s Crew-9 team.
NASA and SpaceX on Sunday assessed weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s Atlantic coast for the Crew-9 departure from the space station, now set for Tuesday evening
After an unexpected stay of more than nine months, NASA astronauts and Starliner crew members Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore are coming home from the International Space Station this week.
After arriving more than 280 days ago on a Boeing Starliner spacecraft, Williams and Wilmore will return aboard a different vehicle, a SpaceX Dragon. Live coverage begins at 10:45 p.m. EDT today as hatches are close
