Astronauts aboard the International Space Station express concerns about their prolonged stay and delayed departure on the Starliner spacecraft
NASA's Commercial Crew Program is gearing up for a significant event, with the planned return of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the Boeing-made CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The return is scheduled between the end of July and the beginning of August, coinciding with a scheduled ISS crew rotation in mid-August [1].
Steve Stich, manager of the Commercial crew program at NASA, has stated that this return would mark the "End of mission for Starliner," aiming to avoid overcrowding issues in the space station. However, Stich has also emphasised that calling on SpaceX to help bring back Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams is not a problem, but the first option remains to bring them back with the Starliner [2].
In preparation for the return, ground tests on the CST-100 Starliner's thrusters are being conducted at the White Sands Missile Range. These tests aim to diagnose and understand the thruster failures experienced during the spacecraft’s June 2024 crewed flight. The tests involve simulating flight conditions with thousands of thruster pulses to investigate the root cause of the failures and test possible fixes [1].
The tests, completed by July 18, 2025, focused on replicating the Starliner’s launch-to-docking thruster firings and undock-to-deorbit sequences, totaling over 1,500 pulses [1]. The effort is part of ongoing troubleshooting in response to five failed reaction control thrusters during the June 2024 docking [2][3]. Boeing and NASA are continuing to work on resolving these propulsion issues before Starliner undertakes further crewed flights or returns astronauts to Earth [2].
Meanwhile, NASA has a plan to keep the Hubble Space Telescope operational, which is currently in poor condition. While Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule is intended to compete with SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule for transporting astronauts and goods to and from the ISS, SpaceX and its Crew Dragon capsule are considered essential for transporting astronauts to and from NASA.
However, it's worth noting that Boeing, already criticized for delays in the flight of its capsule, would see a call for help from SpaceX as a "humiliation" and a potential blow to its reputation and reliability with NASA.
As the return of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams approaches, the focus remains on ensuring the safety and reliability of the CST-100 Starliner, paving the way for future crewed missions to the ISS.
[1] SpaceNews. (2025, July 20). Boeing completes Starliner ground tests ahead of crewed mission. Retrieved from https://spacenews.com/boeing-completes-starliner-ground-tests-ahead-of-crewed-mission/
[2] Ars Technica. (2025, July 22). Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to return astronauts to Earth after ground tests. Retrieved from https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/07/boeings-starliner-spacecraft-to-return-astronauts-to-earth-after-ground-tests/
[3] Space.com. (2024, June 20). Boeing's Starliner spacecraft fails to dock with ISS, but astronauts safe. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-spacecraft-fails-to-dock-with-iss-but-astronauts-safe.html
