NASA delays SpaceX astronaut mission as rumors swirl about Boeing Starliner’s safety

(CNN) — The launch of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, an endeavor planned to ferry four astronauts to the International Space Station — which could also serve as a backup vehicle for the crew assigned to Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft — will be delayed, NASA announced Tuesday.

The space agency said the move “allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning” for the Starliner and its crew, according to a written update from the space agency. NASA will host a news conference on the change Wednesday at 12:30 pm ET.

The brief NASA update lands as rumors swirl about the fate of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which has remained attached to the space station for roughly seven weeks longer than expected, leaving its two crewmembers — veteran NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — in limbo aboard the orbiting laboratory.

NASA now says the SpaceX Crew-9 mission won’t launch until September 24 at the earliest.

Back in July, the agency indicated SpaceX could launch its Crew-9 mission as soon as August 18 — after Williams and Wilmore returned to Earth aboard Starliner.

Boeing also said July 25 that engineers had conducted rigorous ground tests and narrowed down the likely root cause of issues Starliner experienced in June on the first leg of its historic crewed test flight — including five thrusters that abruptly stopped working and helium leaks that cropped up en route. That process of testing and discovery, officials said, was meant to pave the way for NASA to determine whether Starliner could bring Williams and Wilmore home.

But now those efforts appear to be stalled. NASA had said July 26 that it expected to begin a “flight readiness review” for the Starliner in the first couple days of August. That review process still has not started, NASA confirmed to CNN, because the space agency has not yet decided on a target return date.

Ultimately, NASA administrator Bill Nelson will make the final decision about how and when Williams and Wilmore return home, according to Meira Bernstein, NASA’s acting press secretary.

“His top priority, as always, is the safety of the crew,” Bernstein said.

SpaceX and Boeing personnel won’t be participating in the Wednesday news conference, leaving the job of addressing the murky status of both missions — SpaceX Crew-9 and Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test — to space agency officials alone.

Starliner’s uncertain future

NASA told reporters in July that Starliner will have to fly home solely under computer control even if there are astronauts on board.

Though Boeing and the space agency allowed Williams and Wilmore to briefly take over control of the Starliner on the way to the space station, engineers later determined manual operations caused increased strain on the propulsion system.

“Some of the manual maneuvering put some extra stress on the thrusters,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial crew program manager, said July 25.

Boeing, however, has not wavered from its stance: The company maintains that it has worked to understand Starliner’s propulsion issues and is confident that the vehicle is safe to bring its crew home, according to an August 2 statement from the company.

Williams and Wilmore docked at the space station on June 6 and have now been there for 61 days as mission teams conducted tests and analyses to determine the cause of the thruster issues and helium leaks.

NASA has said tapping SpaceX to step in and bring the Starliner astronauts home was a contingency for the mission, but the space agency has consistently stated that it is not the desired scenario.

“There is a lot of good reasons to complete this mission and bring Butch and Suni home on Starliner,” Stich said during the July briefing.

Mark Nappi, Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program manager, added, “Of course, I’m very confident we have a good vehicle to bring the crew back with.”

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