Boeing's Starliner return to Earth postponed, NASA says no new date set
Boeing Starliner's return to Earth from the International Space Station with its first crew of astronauts has been postponed, NASA said on Friday.
NASA did not provide a new date, raising questions about when the mission's two astronauts will return as more testing and technical issues have created more delays.
The return to earth was previously scheduled for June 26
The crew of U.S. astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, lifted off June 5 as a final demonstration to obtain routine flight certification from NASA.
The crewed test of the spacecraft, which has been test-flown to space twice since 2019 without humans aboard, has encountered five failures of its 28 maneuvering thrusters, five leaks of helium that is meant to pressurize those thrusters, and a slow-moving propellant valve that signaled unfixed issues from the past.
The issues and the additional tests NASA and Boeing have had to do call into question when exactly Starliner will be able to fly its crew home, and add to a list of broader problems Boeing faces with its Starliner program. The company has spent $1.5 billion in cost overruns on top of its $4.5 billion NASA development contract.
NASA wants Starliner to become a second U.S. spacecraft capable of ferrying its astronauts to and from the ISS alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which has been the agency's primary ride since 2020. Boeing's Starliner program has struggled with software glitches, design problems and subcontractor disputes
