Boeing's Stranded Starliner Has Failed So Spectacularly That It Looks Like It'll Push Back SpaceX's Next Astronaut Launch

What a trainwreck.

Space Wreck

Boeing's first crewed Starliner mission to the International Space Station has turned out to be a complete disaster.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams still don't have a return date, remaining stuck on board the station indefinitely while engineers continue to evaluate the plagued spacecraft's flightworthiness.

Now it turns out that the massively extended mission could have knock-on effects for other upcoming launches to the ISS. According to Ars Technica's insider sources, NASA is now planning to push back its upcoming Crew-9 mission from August 18 to September 24, a considerable delay.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon mission is currently scheduled to carry a crew of three NASA astronauts and one Rocosmos astronaut to the space station. But if Starliner ends up returning to Earth without any crew on board, NASA may send up the SpaceX spacecraft with just two astronauts to make space for Williams and Wilmore's return flight.

While NASA has yet to publicly comment on the matter — the agency is expected to make its decision public this week — things aren't looking good for Boeing's Starliner, a capsule that had already seen years of delays, cost overruns, and major technical difficulties even before it got stranded on the station.

Port Authority

According to Ars, NASA has been pondering the possibility of returning the two stranded astronauts on board a Crew Dragon spacecraft for over a month. Engineers are still investigating several thrusters that misfired while Starliner was docking with the station two months ago today.

NASA is in a tough spot. The space station only has two docking ports for crew vehicles, and Boeing's struggling Starliner is obstructing one of them. The other is taken up by the SpaceX Crew-8 spacecraft, which is scheduled to return before the end of the month.

Even without a crew on board, NASA will have to weigh some considerable risks. In a worst-case scenario, Starliner may become unable to adjust its own orbit and potentially collide with the station after undocking, according to Ars.

Meanwhile, Boeing remains adamant that it's making great progress by collecting data throughout its first crewed flight test.

"Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew," the company wrote in a statement last week. "We continue to support NASA’s requests for additional testing, data, analysis, and reviews to affirm the spacecraft’s safe undocking and landing capabilities."

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