An assortment of NASA chiefs and administrators held a teleconference Wednesday afternoon to give an update for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test.
Decisional meetings will occur no earlier than next week regarding the return of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched from Florida to the International Space Station on June 5 for what was to be a week-long stay, according to the agency. Multiple landing dates have since been called off as NASA and Boeing evaluate the capsule’s propulsion system; at least five instances of leaking helium have been noted, which is used to pressurize the propulsion system’s fuel lines.
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While NASA at latest has said that mission managers are continuing to evaluate Starliner’s readiness ahead of deciding how to send Wilmore and Williams back home, the astronauts could be in for an eight-month stay at the space station if it’s ultimately decided that the capsule should be cut loose and left to return to Earth without a crew.
Should Starliner return without a crew, two of the four astronauts set to fly aboard Crew-9 — currently set for Sept. 24, landing in spring 2025 — would be left behind so that Butch and Suni could eventually return in their place.
“We could take either path,” Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said earlier this month.
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Wednesday’s event featured the following participants:
- Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Russ DeLoach, chief, NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance
- NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba
- Emily Nelson, chief flight director, NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate
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