What started as a brief eight-day mission aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft has turned surreal for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have now been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months. NASA recently announced they won’t return until at least March 2025, marking one of the most protracted missions for astronauts on the ISS.
Originally launched on June 6, 2024, during Boeing's first crewed test flight of the Starliner, the mission faced unforeseen technical challenges almost immediately. Following its successful docking with the ISS, the Starliner was found to have significant issues, including helium leaks and degraded thrust affecting its maneuvering jets—troubles severe enough to prevent Wilmore and Williams from safely returning home.
Due to these complications, NASA had to make the difficult choice to return the Starliner uncrewed back to Earth on September 25, 2024, resulting in the astronauts being stranded aboard the ISS as they awaited another means of transport. Originally, they were set to return on SpaceX's Crew-9 mission; they remained instead as part of Crew-9's planned handover to Crew-10, which has since been delayed.
According to NASA, the new timeline for Crew-10's launch—no earlier than late March 2025—was necessary to allow SpaceX adequate time to finalize processing of its new Dragon spacecraft, ensuring it met the stringent safety standards required for crewed missions. Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, explained: "Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor requiring great attention to detail," acknowledging the pressures and challenges involved.
This adjustment means the astronauts’ unintended long-duration mission will extend far beyond its original timeframe, positioning their total time stationed on the ISS at around ten months—if they return at the latest projected timeline.
While such prolonged stays on the orbiting laboratory are not unprecedented, they do present additional logistical challenges. NASA has assured the public the ISS is more than capable of supporting the crew for the extended stay, having confirmed it received two resupply flights recently, providing ample food, water, and supplies for all aboard.
Historical precedents exist for extended missions, including Frank Rubio's situation, where he remained aboard the ISS for six months longer than planned. Yet, these circumstances exacerbate the pressing need for Boeing to resolve its Starliner program's technical failures and restore its credibility in NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
The hurdles the Starliner project faces cast shadows over what was once hoped to be a dependable alternative to SpaceX's Crew Dragon. Delays and repeated technical issues have led to mounting concerns, forcing NASA to increasingly rely on its competing partner.
SpaceX’s Crew-9 vessel did launch as planned and included two empty seats, having been leveraged to return Wilmore and Williams when Crew-10 arrives to effectuate their homecoming. Without the transition efforts with the new crew, scheduled to bring NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with astronauts from JAXA and Russia, Wilmore and Williams would remain indefinitely aboard the ISS.
The upgraded resolution for Crew-10 has illustrated the necessity of overlap during handover periods, allowing outgoing astronauts to share operational knowledge and insights with their replacements—critical information for the smooth continuation of scientific research conducted aboard the ISS.
This persistent uncertainty surrounding the Starliner program raises pressing questions about Boeing's future role within NASA operations. After initially being contracted to provide safe, reliable transport for astronauts, the setbacks have impacted public perception and confidence, framing Boeing's Starliner project as struggling.
To date, SpaceX continues to excel, maintaining operational reliability with its Crew Dragon missions and reinforcing their footprints as trusted partners for NASA. With each technical hindrance affecting the Starliner, the vacuum left by its shortcomings is markedly filled by SpaceX's success.
What lays way for the Starliner astronauts remains under scrutiny; NASA's repeated expressions of optimism about fixing Boeing’s issues signal there's still hope for restoring its spacecraft’s place among NASA's crew transport options. But as time progresses and the disillusionment mounts, the burden has shifted heavily onto Boeing's shoulders.
For the stranded astronauts, the coming months will surely test their resilience, as they prepare for potentially high-stakes operations prior to their eventual return home. All attention draws toward completing the mission readiness for Crew-10 and ensuring safe passage to Earth for Wilmore and Williams, encapsulating the unpredictabilities of modern crewed space exploration.
