Boeing’s long-awaited Starliner crewed space mission ended Friday after the spacecraft parachuted down over New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range. The spacecraft returned to Earth empty, months after carrying astronauts. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore into space in June of this year.
The two test pilots are still in space and are unlikely to return this year. Williams and Wilmore will remain on the ISS for the next few months unless from SpaceX Dragon doesn’t make it to the International Space Station. Here’s the full update on what will happen to Sunita Williams after the Boeing Starliner returns.
Why did Boeing Starliner take off without Sunita Williams?
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were scheduled to return to Earth on Starliner in mid-June, but the first astronaut trip on Boeing’s Starliner faced significant hurdles in the form of repeated helium leaks and other technical issues with the capsule in space. Amid speculation about the safety of the two astronauts on their return space flight, POT They decided it was too risky for them to return on Starliner.
What will happen now to Sunita Williams?
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will have to wait in space for a few more months before returning to Earth on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon. After announcing that the return of the two astronauts on the Boeing Starliner was “too risky,” NASA confirmed that Suni and Butch will return to Earth on SpaceX’s Dragon. The SpaceX ship will launch near the end of the month and will remain in space until February.
Previously, the Dragon spaceflight was scheduled to carry four astronauts. However, the number was cut in half to accommodate Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on the return flight. A few weeks ago, NASA announced the names of the astronauts for its SpaceX Crew-9 mission ahead of its launch in September 2024.
Astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov have been appointed commanders and mission specialists for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, who were previously scheduled to fly in space, have been reassigned for future missions.
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