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Starliner woes continue, causing Crew 9 launch delay

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Earthsky.org 
Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in T-38 preflight activities at Ellington Field in Houston in 2022. They were supposed to be at the International Space Station for 8 days. The stay hit the 2-month mark on August 6, 2024. When will these 2 astronauts be able to return from space? Image via Robert Markowitz/ NASA.
  • Two Starliner astronauts are still stuck at the International Space Station due to problems in the Boeing spacecraft’s propulsion system.
  • Engineers are testing Starliner’s propulsion system to ensure a safe return for astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams.
  • NASA is delaying the next SpaceX mission, and other planned missions including Europa Clipper to Jupiter, while working to ensure Starliner can safely undock and return to Earth.

No date for Starliner return to Earth as evaluation goes on

NASA said on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) that more time is needed to “finalize return planning” of the Boeing Starliner crew capsule, with its crew of two astronauts. Hidden in the jargon appears to be the message that engineers are taking a very close look at Starliner’s multiple malfunctions. The announcement comes two months to the day after the spacecraft docked at the International Space Station on June 6, amidst helium leaks in the craft and a thruster issue, after carrying astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams to the ISS. The NASA announcement on August 6 said:

Starliner ground teams are taking their time to analyze the results of recent docked hot-fire testing, finalize flight rationale for the spacecraft’s integrated propulsion system, and confirm system reliability ahead of Starliner’s return to Earth. NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate the spacecraft’s readiness, and no decisions have been made regarding Starliner’s return.

Note that the phrase “flight rationale” has a very precise meaning for NASA mission controllers.

That is, following the Challenger disaster in 1986, NASA devised a formal review process known as the Seven Elements of Flight Rationale to avoid another preventable disaster. The review reveals weaknesses and errors in judgement when preparing to use faulty equipment.

Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew 9 pose for their official portrait. It could be that 2 members of this crew will need to remain on Earth, to make room for the Boeing Starliner crew of 2 to return. But there’s no firm date for the Crew 9 launch now either. NASA announced a delay on August 6, 2024, saying the delay was needed for continued evaluation of the flight readiness of the Starliner crew capsule. The Starliner craft is apparently not space-worthy at this time, and there is no date for the Starliner astronauts’ return to Earth. Will 2 Crew 9 members need to be bumped, to bring Butch and Suni home? Image via NASA.

Controllers evaluating ‘residual flight risk’ for Starliner flight home

The process also allows mission managers to know how much “residual flight risk” astronauts like Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams face in these situations. Should the propulsion system on Starliner fail during undocking, it could cause it to collide with the ISS. The propulsion system is also necessary for navigating the craft back to Earth.

Should flying Starliner prove too risky, then the upcoming Crew 9 mission could be reduced by two members. This reduction would allow room for Wilmore and Williams to leave the ISS, using the Crew 9 Dragon capsule as a lifeboat if needed.

NASA is targeting no earlier than September 24 for the launch of Crew 9. The Starliner kerfuffle is wreaking havoc on the carefully planned ISS calendar:

The Crew-9 launch adjustment also deconflicts the next SpaceX rotation with the upcoming Soyuz handover targeted for no earlier than mid-September. Teams are working to prepare the Crew-9 mission to be ready to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to deconflict with pad preparations for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission beginning this September at nearby Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center.

NASA also will adjust the launch of SpaceX’s 31st commercial resupply services mission to no earlier than mid-October.

Currently, Starlink cannot undock without crew onboard

So, to reiterate the situation, when Boeing and NASA’s Starliner mission carried two astronauts to the International Space Station in early June, the mission was intended to last a minimum of 8 days. As of today (August 7), astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore are still at ISS, with no return date.

At a press update held July 25, 2024, NASA and Boeing representatives said the mission could continue into September. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, described the mission’s status:

We don’t have a major announcement today relative to a return date. We’re making great progress, but we’re just not quite ready to do that. We’re here to be open and transparent and talk about, you know, all the great learning that’s happened.

But it appeared, even on July 25, that Stich wasn’t as transparent as he could have been. Ars Technica subsequently reported on August 5 that Starliner’s current configuration cannot undock from the ISS without a crew. The article – drawing from three anonymous inside sources – said Boeing would not say why a crew must be on board:

It is possible that the crew has to manually press an undock button in the spacecraft, or the purely autonomous software was removed from coding on board Starliner to simplify its software package.

Regardless, sources described the process to update the software on Starliner as “non-trivial” and “significant,” and that it could take up to four weeks. This is what is driving the delay to launch Crew 9 later next month.

Controllers said earlier Starliner could bring crew home safely

In late July, NASA’s Steve Stich and Boeing’s Mark Nappi gave a detailed technical description of testing performed on the craft’s malfunctioning thruster system. They also discussed the helium leaks that delayed the launch and are ongoing. Flight controls say neither issue would prevent the craft – and its astronauts – from returning safely.

But they still wouldn’t give a firm date for Starliner’s undocking. Stich explained then why they were hesitant:

Boy, I hate to pick a date. I mean I think you know if we have an agency review next week and that review is successful and everybody polls ‘go to proceed,’ I mean it’s a little bit of time after that, right? So depending on what’s going on at ISS. It’s kind of a busy time at ISS, if you just look at the next few weeks.

By “busy,” he was referring several upcoming missions, some of which are now, as of August 7, being cancelled. The now delayed handoff was supposed to happen between Crew 8 and Crew 9. There is also a Soyuz resupply mission, originally set for August 15. And the Northrop Grumman CRS21 was also scheduled to make a resupply run to the ISS no earlier than August.

Watch the entire NASA-Boeing press conference below:

‘Building confidence’ in Starliner before reentry

At the five-week point of Butch and Suni’s unintended long stay aboard ISS, a prior mission update to the press on Wednesday, July 10, Steve Stich had also emphasized NASA’s bent toward extremely caution.

He told reporters then that the thrusters that failed as Starliner docked at the ISS would not prevent a safe landing at the mission’s end. He explained then:

We’re taking our time on the ground to go through all the data that we have before we decide on the return opportunity. We’re taking time to build confidence in the spacecraft, to understand the thruster performance – those aft thrusters that failed off during docking – and also totally understand the helium margins before we undock. You know what we’re doing is not unusual for a new spacecraft.

Starliner’s thrusters had apparently failed due to a temperature issue, which, at that time, mission controllers were not yet been able to replicate back on Earth. The vehicle’s multiple helium leaks in its thruster system should not impact its return flight, according to NASA and Boeing.

These July 10 details were revealed just two days after Boeing suffered another high-profile structural failure, with an airplane. A United Airlines Boeing aircraft had lost a landing gear wheel during takeoff on July 8 in Los Angeles, before landing safely in Denver.

The entire July 10 mission update is here, or below:

Butch and Suni said they were having a ‘great time’ in space

Shortly before the July 10 technical update, Williams and Wilmore spoke live to reporters back on Earth. They gave a rosy update on their extended stay at the ISS, where they are continuing to test Starliner and assist the station’s crew. Those tests, Williams said, have reassured them of the craft’s ability to get them home in one piece:

So, I have confidence. Butch has confidence. We are here on the space station with our safe haven of Starliner.

In the meantime, the pair said in early July that they were enjoying their stay at ISS. Suni said on the video:

It feels good to float around. It feels good to be in space and work up here with the International Space Station. It is great to be up here. I am not complaining. Butch is not complaining we are here for a couple extra weeks.

Meanwhile, testing of Starliner’s thrusters was continuing at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility. And Suni Williams appeared to bristle a bit when asked if test results have shaken the astronauts’ confidence in the craft. She said:

Your question is full of speculation. I don’t know personally what could come out of there that would give us a huge amount of pause. What we want to know is that the thrusters can perform, if whatever their percentage of thrust is we can put into a package that will get us a deorbit burn.

But she clearly realizes what’s at stake:

That’s the main purpose that we need [from] the service module. To get us a good deorbit burn so we can come back.

We have not heard from the two astronauts again, so directly or fully, since July 10.

Watch the full interview with Williams and Wilmore above or on YouTube.

Starliner’s extended stay at ISS

Starliner launched June 5, 2024, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.


When the NASA-Boeing Starliner mission began in early June 2024, it was a year behind schedule and $1.4 billion over budget. Starliner has encountered many challenges along the way, including during its launch and subsequent “harrowing” journey to the International Space Station. That’s according to Eric Berger – the senior space editor at Ars Technica – who spoke with EarthSky’s Dave Adalian LIVE on Monday, July 1. They discussed Starliner’s issues and more. Watch the replay above or find us on YouTube.

An aurora streams below Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. It is docked to the forward port on the Harmony module as the International Space Station soars 266 miles (428 km) above the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia. Starliner remains docked indefinitely at the ISS as mission controllers continue to evaluate the problem-plagued craft. Image via NASA/ Matt Dominick.

Read more: The Atlantic: Boeing launch can’t afford to fail


Rewatch the livestream of the 1st crewed launch of Boeing Starliner in the player above.

Boeing and NASA opt to launch Starliner with leak

On May 6, 2024, a rocket issue caused the scrub of the first crewed Boeing Starliner launch. This valve regulates the pressure on the upper stage of the rocket. At the May 6 attempt, it was buzzing, which led to the scrub two hours before launch. In a press conference on May 6, 2024, United Launch Alliance (ULA) president and CEO Tory Bruno said:

Had it been a satellite, we would have simply cycled, finished the count and launched. That’s not what we planned for a crew mission. And so, we stayed with the rules and procedures and scrubbed.

ArsTechnica reported on May 25 that flight controllers felt confident the leak in Starliner would not affect its performance:

Senior managers from NASA and Boeing told reporters on Friday (May 24) that they plan to launch the first crew test flight of the Starliner spacecraft as soon as June 1, following several weeks of detailed analysis of a helium leak and a ‘design vulnerability’ with the ship’s propulsion system.

Indeed, during the press conference on June 1 after the attempted launch that day, officials said the helium leak they were tracking wouldn’t have been an issue.

In a press conference with NASA and Boeing on June 28, 2024, Stich repeatedly expressed that he wanted to “make things clear” concerning the many theories surrounding Boeing Starliner. Stich said on June 28:

I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space.

More on Starliner

EarthSky’s Greg Diesel Walck and his photo equipment were on the scene all week, waiting at the launchpad. He shared this quick video:

An uncrewed Starliner as it headed toward docking with the ISS in 2022. Image via NASA.
The Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. This long-duration photograph was taken at night from the orbital complex as it soared 258 miles above western China. NASA announced on July 25, 2024, there is still no date for the craft and crew’s return home. Image via NASA

Bottom line: There is still no firm return date for the two Boeing Starliner astronauts, who have been stranded at the International Space Station since early June. NASA said on August 6, 2024, that the evaluation of the Starliner capsule now requires delaying the launch of Crew 9 to the ISS until at least September 24.

The post Starliner woes continue, causing Crew 9 launch delay first appeared on EarthSky.