NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were meant to go to the International Space Station (ISS) on a roughly ten-day mission. Instead, they have been “stuck” there since June, as the reliability of their spacecraft – Boeing Starliner – has not met NASA’s strict standards for crewed flight.
After two months of testing, NASA has now made the call that Starliner will return to Earth in September without astronauts aboard.
This will enable both NASA and Boeing to monitor the craft carefully as it separates from the ISS and makes its way home. Because human life is part of the equation, the data gathered from this flight will inform required changes for Starliner to be certified for crewed flight.
