NASA announced that the Boeing spacecraft Starliner will not carry the two astronauts sent to the International Space Station in June back to Earth, and they will be returned by the SpaceX spacecraft in February next year. The first manned flight of Starliner is a bit disappointing, and SpaceX remains the only company using launch rockets to help American astronauts travel to and from the International Space Station.
The US government originally hoped to rely on Boeing to develop its manned spacecraft business and eliminate its dependence on Space X. Who knew that Boeing's spacecraft was unreliable, forcing astronauts stranded in space to "carpool" with SpaceX's spacecraft back to the country.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently announced that the Boeing spacecraft Starliner, which sent astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station in June this year, will not carry these two astronauts back to Earth. The two astronauts will continue their work as part of the Expedition 71/72 mission on the International Space Station until February next year, when they will be brought back to Earth by SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which will be executing the Crew-9 mission.
![The NASA image above shows the two astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams of the Boeing spacecraft unit taking a group photo at the International Space Station on June 13 this year.](https://newsfile.futunn.com/public/NN-PersistNewsContentImage/7781/20240828/0-06ef5718579f2eff513732b019cc585e-0-08490963b5211b5077ffa15421caafc7.jpg/big)
This decision means that due to a series of technical issues with the Starliner, the two American astronauts had to stay in space for eight months. These two astronauts set off on June 5, originally scheduled to stay in space for 80 days, but due to Starliner's malfunction, the return was delayed until July and then delayed several times.
This time, NASA no longer plans to have the Starliner bring back astronauts, which also means that the first manned flight of the Starliner is a disappointment after a successful launch and docking with the International Space Station. Boeing's aviation business has been severely affected. Currently, NASA still heavily relies on SpaceX for important space missions. In recent years, SpaceX has been the only flight services company using rockets to transport American astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Some media pointed out that both SpaceX and Boeing have received billions of dollars in orders from NASA for commercial space flight services for astronauts. Boeing's order amount is $4.2 billion, while SpaceX's is $2.6 billion.
Carter Palmer, chief analyst of the aerospace & defense market research company Forecast International, commented that NASA has always hoped for more than one cooperative choice, but has not been successful so far.
Some media have reported that SpaceX has few competitors in launching manned rockets and small low-earth orbit satellites. CEO Musk's influence in the aerospace field is growing, and his strong leadership role at SpaceX, as well as his support for Trump's presidential campaign this year, has raised more attention to his involvement in political issues.
Editor/Somer