Starliner return date set; SpaceX woes complicate ISS missions | Space

(NewsNation) — NASA has set a date for Boeing’s Starliner capsule to return to Earth, though the craft will be coming home without a crew. Meanwhile, SpaceX, which is set to give the two astronauts a lift home in February 2025, has been grounded by federal regulators after a mishap with one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets.

The agency plans to bring Starliner back in an autonomous return on Sep. 6, ahead of a planned Sep. 24 launch for SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission later in the month. Starliner has to be undocked before Crew-9 can head to the International Space Station due to a shortage of docking stations for crewed missions on the U.S. side of the facility.

The decision to return Starliner home empty is the latest blow for Boeing on a project that has been marked by delays and overspending. If SpaceX is grounded for a significant period of time, that could also impact plans to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home.

Difficulties with commercial partnerships could also cast a shadow over NASA’s private partnerships for upcoming projects, including the Artemis project that intends to return astronauts to the moon and the decommissioning of the ISS, which is set to be replaced by a privately operated space station.

Starliner’s struggles continue

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