Washington [US], August 25: This decision was made after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft used to carry two NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore to the ISS in June encountered many technical problems and was not safe, The Guardian reported on August 24.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on August 24 that two astronauts will return to Earth on SpaceX's Crew-9 spacecraft in February next year, while the Starliner spacecraft will return unmanned in September.
"I want you to know that Boeing has been working hard with NASA to gather the data needed to make this decision. We want to understand the root cause and understand the design improvements that will make Starliner a critical part of our crewed mission to the ISS," Nelson said.
NASA's director added that spaceflight always carries risks, even with the most routine and safe flights, while the spacecraft carrying astronauts Williams and Wilmore is part of the Starliner test flight plan.
The two veteran NASA astronauts arrived at the ISS on June 6 as part of a planned test to evaluate the Starliner spacecraft before NASA could approve it for regular use. However, the planned eight-day mission has now been extended by months, and with the latest announcement, Williams and Wilmore will be on the ISS for more than half a year. The Boeing spacecraft suffered a leak and a propulsion system failure.
During their stay at the ISS, the two astronauts will perform station maintenance and other research tasks.
Asked whether the incident would affect NASA's trust in Boeing , senior NASA official Jim Free said: "I don't think there's a trust issue. Our way of evaluating data may be different than Boeing's. We have to balance technical expertise and experience."
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper