National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator Bill Nelson announced late last month that Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, the two astronauts stuck on Boeing's Starliner, will return to Earth in February 2025 on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
Wilmore and Williams have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) since their Starliner spacecraft suffered five thruster malfunctions and five helium leaks.
Nelson said NASA has decided that Wilmore and Williams will return with Crew-9, and that the Starliner will return uncrewed.
The astronauts launched from Florida on June 5, and were initially scheduled to return to Earth by June 13. However, NASA announced on June 18 that they planned to bring the two astronauts home by June 26.
During Wilmore and William's 25-hour flight to space, engineers realized that the Starliner was having problems with its thrusters and experiencing helium leaks.
Nelson added that space flight is risky, "even at its safest and even at its most routine." He also explained that, by nature, a test flight "is neither safe nor routine."
According to Nelson, NASA's decision to keep Wilmore and Williams aboard the ISS is due to the agency's "commitment to safety." (Related: Two astronauts still STRANDED on International Space Station due to mechanical failures with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.)
Boeing employees "humiliated" by NASA's decision
In an interview, Boeing employees shared that they were "humiliated" after NASA announced that Wilmore and Williams would be rescued by SpaceX.
According to the employee, who is a Florida-based staffer with Boeing's space program, the decision was the latest blow to Boeing, which is already suffering backlash due to several commercial flight incidents earlier in 2024.
Speaking anonymously, the employee lamented that the aerospace giant is "under a microscope" following the issues that have plagued the company. The SpaceX rescue also seems to have made Boeing's already faltering reputation worse.
The Boeing employee also claimed that the company "hates" SpaceX, with employees often badmouthing the latter. The anonymous employee also claimed that many workers are blaming NASA for the humiliation.
The employee said they believed that Starliner could bring the astronauts back safely, but NASA didn't want to risk it. The employee added that NASA is already dealing with its PR issues and did not want to add "two dead astronauts" to the list.
The anonymous Boeing employee claimed the mission was safe.
Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, claimed that discussions with Boeing ended in a "little disagreement about risk." However, Boeing did not comment on NASA's decision to rely on SpaceX. Instead, the company said in an interview that it was focusing on making sure Starliner can return to Earth intact.
"Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft," said Boeing.
The company has spent about $1.5 billion in cost overruns more than the initial $4.5 billion contract it secured with NASA, which has plans to make Starliner its second mode of transportation to the ISS alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon.
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