NASA Astronauts to Hitch a Ride Home With SpaceX

MERRITT ISLAND, FL – NASA is expected to announce as early as Saturday whether the U.S. astronauts currently on the International Space Station (ISS) will return using the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which has experienced technical issues, or if they will need to wait for a SpaceX vehicle to take the astronauts home, according to reports.

In June, Starliner sent its first two astronauts into space as a critical test for NASA's approval of regular missions. 

The eight-day mission, however, which was supposed to dock with the ISS, has been extended by several months due to leaks in the capsule and malfunctions with some of its thrusters.

NASA is balancing the data around its cautious approach to the mission, which is one of four Starliner flights since 2019 to issue problems. 

Boeing has reported $1.6 billion in losses from the Starliner program, according to securities filings. The company faces intense competition from SpaceX, founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who also started Tesla and now owns the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

To manage the situation, NASA has set up a backup plan to make two seats available on an upcoming SpaceX Crew Dragon mission that could be used by the Starliner crew, veteran astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

“They’re pushing the envelope in multiple ways,” the retired NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman stated in a reported interview.

If that option is selected, Wilmore and Williams would remain in space until the mission ends in February 2025, while the Starliner would return to Earth without them, reportedly.

“There’s not a lot of room for error,” says Reisman.