--- title: "Boeing’s Starliner Stuck at the ISS Until at Least August, NASA Admits" description: "NASA is still refusing to announce a return date for Boeing's plagued Starliner spacecraft and is giving itself until August." date: "2024-07-25" modified: "2024-07-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeings-starliner-stuck-iss-august" categories: - "Boeing" - "International Space Station" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "boeing" - "international space station" - "NASA" - "starliner" - "the digest" --- # Boeing’s Starliner Stuck at the ISS Until at Least August, NASA Admits ![NASA is still refusing to announce a return date for Boeing's plagued Starliner spacecraft and is giving itself until August.]() *\Image: NASA / Futurism\* ## One Step Forward NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams [arrived]() at the International Space Station on board Boeing's plagued Starliner spacecraft on June 6, over a month and a half ago. The trip was only supposed to last less than two weeks, but the space agency still has yet to issue a return date as engineers are [still poring over the data](), investigating a number of thrusters that [sprung leaks]() during the trip to the station. On Thursday, NASA confirmed that the two astronauts will be stuck at the station until at least August, extending their stay into a months-long ordeal. During a press conference, NASA’s Commercial Crew manager Steve Stich [said]() that "we're making great progress, but we’re just not quite ready" to determine a return date. The agency is giving itself until at least the first week of August, at which point it will conduct a review — yet another setback of an already disastrous spacecraft launch. ## Two Steps Back Boeing's trouble with its Starliner spacecraft, which is meant to provide NASA with an alternative to SpaceX's tried-and-true Crew Dragon capsule, began years ago. Its development has already seen [countless technical setbacks, delays, and budget overruns](). Last month's launch was marred by several helium leaks, causing several thrusters to [shut down unexpectedly]() as the craft approached the station. Earlier this week, Boeing [concluded testing]() of spare engines at NASA's White Sands test facility to figure out what caused the mishap, setting the stage for further "data reviews." The botched launch has raised thorny questions regarding NASA's relationship with its well-established contractor. Is the agency covering for Boeing? The public perception of Wilmore and Williams being "stranded" at the ISS has been anything but flattering, as [*The Atlantic* points out](), compounding Boeing's already [enormous PR issues regarding its aerospace business](). And while Stich has repeatedly reassured the public that the two astronauts could technically return on board Starliner in the event of an emergency, NASA's refusal to commit to any return date over the last seven weeks seems suspect. "Of course they don’t feel comfortable putting them in the vehicle," an unnamed retired NASA astronaut told *The Atlantic*. "Otherwise they would have put them in it already." **More on Starliner:** *[Boeing Desperately Trying to Figure Out Thruster Issue That's Stranded Astronauts in Space All Summer]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()