NASA Freezes Starliner Missions After Boeing Leaves Astronauts Stranded

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In light of Starliner's test flight that left its crew stranded in space, NASA will use SpaceX's Dragon for the upcoming crewed flights to the International Space Station (ISS) while the space agency decides what to do with Boeing's troubled spacecraft.

⁘The timing and configuration of Starliner's next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing's path to system certification is established,⁘ NASA wrote in its update. ⁘This determination will include considerations for incorporating Crew Flight Test lessons learned, approvals of final certification products, and operational readiness.⁘

NASA is considering different options for system certification, including a proposed Starliner flight sometime in 2025, the space agency added. However, it's not clear whether the upcoming flight would have a crew on board or if the spacecraft will fly solo to the ISS.

During its trip to the ISS, five of the spacecraft's thrusters failed  and the spacecraft developed five helium leaks , one of which was identified prior to liftoff. Mission teams ran tests on the ground to try and identify the main issue behind the thruster glitch before ultimately deciding to return an uncrewed Starliner and bring back its crew on board SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft . Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth with SpaceX Crew-9 in February 2025, having spent eight months on board the ISS as opposed to the original plan of a week-long mission in orbit.

Boeing has yet to meet the end of its $4.3 billion   Commercial Crew Program contract with NASA. The company's CST-100 Starliner was first conceived in 2010, built on a long legacy of designing and building spacecraft for Apollo, but its journey to the ISS was marred by several delays and failures.

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