Boeing Starliner Not Safe Enough to Return Astronauts, NASA Says

The two crew members will remain on the International Space Station until returning on a SpaceX vessel in February 2025.

The Starliner spacecraft docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station, orbiting 262 miles above Egypt's Mediterranean coast, on June 13, 2024. NASA via AP

After months of uncertainty over whether Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft could safely return its two astronauts home from the International Space Station (ISS), NASA decided on Aug. 24 to send the Starliner back to Earth uncrewed.

The two astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, will return on SpaceX’s Crew-9 Dragon vessel in February 2025.