What Went Wrong: Why the Starliner Astronauts Are Stuck in Space

Why the Two Stranded NASA Astronauts Weren’t connected SpaceX Capsule’s Return Voyage

Is determination a nightmare unfolding 250 miles supra Earth?

Not according to NASA, which has maintained that astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore are not stuck oregon stranded successful space, contempt the information that their archetypal ngo was lone expected to past for 8 days and is present successful its 5th month.

And Boeing—the shaper of the Starliner trade that Williams, 59, and Wilmore, 61, spent 26 hours successfully piloting to the International Space Station, docking June 6—initially expressed assurance that the astronauts would yet beryllium capable to spell backmost to Earth the mode they came. 

But NASA has since confirmed that the brace won't beryllium returning location until 2025. And erstwhile they do, the bureau said, it won't be aboard the Boeing Starliner.

"NASA has decided that Butch and Suni volition instrumentality with Crew-9 adjacent February and that Starliner volition instrumentality uncrewed," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during an Aug. 24 property conference. "The determination to support Butch and Suni connected committee the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner location uncrewed is the effect of a committedness to safety. Our halfway worth is information and it is our North Star."

Meanwhile, the bare Starliner made the travel backmost to Earth, touching down Sept. 6 astatine White Sands Space Harbor successful New Mexico.

SpaceX's Crew-8 ngo besides successfully returned to Florida connected Oct. 25, the trade carrying 3 NASA astronauts and 1 Russian cosmonaut whose clip astatine the ISS was done. 

And yet forgive those of america who are neither astrophysicists nor seasoned astronauts and Navy pilots—prior to this mission, Williams had spent 322 days successful abstraction and Wilmore had logged 167—for reasoning these method difficulties dependable scary each the same.

Here are each the details connected the Starliner astronauts, however their ngo went awry and what comes next:

Who are Starliner astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore?

Born successful Ohio and raised successful Needham, Mass., Williams graduated with a grade successful carnal subject from the U.S. Naval Academy and has a master's successful engineering absorption from the Florida Institute of Technology.

She logged much than 3,000 hours successful the air—mostly successful helicopters—with the Navy and was selected for the astronaut programme successful 1998. Before the Starliner flight, she'd been to the International Space Station twice, successful 2006 and 2012, and accumulated 7 abstraction walks.

Incidentally, during that second mission, Williams became the archetypal idiosyncratic to implicit a triathlon successful space, cycling connected a stationary bike, simulating swimming with a weightlifting instrumentality and moving connected a treadmill.

"Being a aviator wasn’t really my archetypal prime arsenic a vocation successful the Navy. I really wanted to beryllium a diver," Williams said connected an April occurrence of NASA's Houston We Have a Podcast. "But Top Gun came retired and I saw how cool Tom Cruise was, and I wanted to beryllium a pitchy pilot, truthful I went to formation school."

Instead she became a chopper pilot, she noted, "and I loved it from the archetypal clip I started."

Wilmore pursued higher acquisition successful his location state, earning bachelor's and master's degrees successful electrical engineering from Tennessee Technological University, arsenic good arsenic a master's successful aviation systems from the University of Tennessee.

The still-active Navy skipper amassed 8,000 formation hours successful tactical pitchy craft and NASA recruited him successful 2000. He was the orbiter aviator connected a shuttle formation to the ISS successful 2009 and past flew aboard the Russian Soyuz for a 167-day enactment successful 2014, serving arsenic presumption commander.

"You know, my ma said my archetypal connection was not 'mom' oregon 'dad,'" Wilmore said connected the NASA podcast. "It was 'Why?' I was ever questioning everything."

Including what the satellite looked similar from above.

What is the Starliner spacecraft?

Unlike the shuttle and the Soyuz that Williams and Wilmore chopped their abstraction teeth on, Boeing's Starliner is simply a capsule.

The years-in-the-launching vas is 15 feet wide and, dissimilar a shuttle that needs a runway, is capable to onshore connected coagulated crushed oregon water.

"It gives america that capableness and that flexibility depending connected what authorities of formation we mightiness beryllium successful oregon mightiness find ourselves in," Wilmore said connected Houston We Have a Podcast. "So it's not shuttle-like successful immoderate respect different than it has a unit module that is pressurized that tin spell into the vacuum of space, and that's astir wherever the similarities extremity arsenic acold arsenic capabilities."

Added Williams, "We person possibly a 10th of the magnitude of switches that the shuttle cockpit had, but the doctrine and that rigor of however the abstraction shuttle was designed and operated, I consciousness that successful this spacecraft arsenic well."

She nicknamed the capsule Calypso, aft the probe vas utilized by famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

Did Boeing's Starliner person issues earlier launch?

The Starliner faced galore method setbacks during production, the New York Times reported, including inadequate bundle testing, corroded propellant valves and a cardinal constituent successful the parachute strategy being weaker than it needed to be.

Before the crewed flight, bundle and different issues had besides plagued respective unmanned trial flights connected the brace of Starliners built by Boeing, according to the Associated Press.

And up of the June 5 motorboat from Cape Canaveral, a tiny helium leak successful the propulsion-related plumbing was judged by NASA and Boeing to beryllium unchangeable and isolated, the AP reported.

Then, portion en way to the ISS, the capsule's cooling strategy (called a sublimator) utilized much h2o than expected, truthful the trade switched to a radiator strategy erstwhile successful orbit, according to the Times, but the glitch wasn't expected to impact the mission.

The squad "practiced a fig of times for each sorts of contingencies," Williams said connected the NASA podcast successful April, "but what we are hoping for is 3 bully parachutes, each our airbags and a bully brushed landing."

What happened to Starliner connected the mode to the International Space Station?

In transit, the trade sprang 4 much helium leaks and 5 (of 28) thrusters failed, according to NASA. Helium is an inert state that pushes propellants to the thrusters.

Still, the unit docked the trade successfully. They "handled the popular quiz truly well," NASA authoritative Stich told reporters June 6. "And they got each the answers right."

However, Williams and Wilmore's instrumentality formation ended up being postponed indefinitely portion assorted tests were conducted.

Incidentally, the brace near their luggage down aft abstraction was needed to transport a pump to hole a malfunctioning toilet astatine their destination—meaning they took disconnected with little than 8 days' worthy of idiosyncratic items for what mightiness extremity up being an eight-month trip.

Moreover, Boeing stated that 27 of 28 thrusters were "healthy and backmost to afloat operational capability," portion the propulsion strategy "maintains redundancy and the helium levels stay stable."

Days later, however, the embattled aeronautics institution said it was prepared to get Starliner backmost to Earth without radical aboard.

"We inactive judge successful Starliner's capableness and its formation rationale," a Boeing spokesperson told E! News successful a statement. "If NASA decides to alteration the mission, we volition instrumentality the actions indispensable to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return."

After it safely touched down successful New Mexico, NASA said they were arrogant of the mission.

"Even though it was indispensable to instrumentality the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an unthinkable magnitude astir Starliner successful the astir utmost situation possible," Ken Bowersox, subordinate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate astatine NASA Headquarters successful Washington, said successful a statement. "NASA looks guardant to our continued enactment with the Boeing squad to proceed toward certification of Starliner for unit rotation missions to the abstraction station."

Meanwhile, a Northrop Grumman cargo resupply mission showed up Aug. 6 with immoderate items the luggage-less guests presumably needed amid the 8,200 pounds of equipment, subject experiments and supplies stashed aboard.

"We bash similar to support our options open, truthful we bash person immoderate items specified arsenic clothes...some idiosyncratic nutrient items...things similar that," explained Bill Spetch, NASA’s operations integration manager for the International Space Station Program.

And the 2 guests person since been made full-time ISS unit members, Wilmore telling CBS News from abstraction successful September that the modulation successful his caput "wasn't instantaneous, but it was beauteous close."

Agreed Williams, "That's what we do. We're professionals."

Both, of course, were picked for the ngo successful the archetypal spot due to the fact that they're consummate professionals who'd beryllium acceptable for anything.

"I deliberation the biggest happening is beryllium diligent and beryllium intentional successful each of the thought process and investigating that you're going to do," Williams said connected the NASA podcast successful April, talking astir what she tried to impressment connected her students arsenic a formation instructor. "Don't spell retired determination and beryllium a cowboy."

And you ever person to person a backup plan.

"You can't conscionable spell retired determination and helping it," Williams stressed. "You request to cognize what you're going to bash to travel backmost home."