SpaceX mission to space station delayed as Boeing tries to bring astronauts home

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A SpaceX mission to the International Space Station has been delayed by a month as Nasa and Boeing continue to work out how it will bring two astronauts stuck at the station back home. The SpaceX Crew-9 launch was initially scheduled for mid-August. Nasa now says the mission will launch after 24 September. “This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory,” Nasa said in a statement. The agency said Nasa and Boeing engineers were “taking their time” to analyze recent tests, finalize flight rationale and “confirm system reliability ahead of Starliner’s return to Earth”. “No decisions have been made regarding Starliner’s return,” the agency said. Boeing’s Starliner launched on 5 June with two astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, on board. The mission – the first crewed flight for the Starliner – was supposed to last about eight days but has now run nearly eight weeks over schedule. Boeing said in July that after rigorous ground tests, engineers pinpointed issues within the Starliner, including the abrupt malfunction of thrusters and helium leaks. In a 2 August statement, the company said its “confidence remains high in Starliner’s return with crew”. Recent reports have suggested there is more conflict behind the scenes between Nasa and Boeing leaders. Some of the agency’s leaders appear to question whether the Starliner should bring Williams and Wilmore back. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Nasa may involve SpaceX in backup plans to bring the astronauts back. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Space experts told the Guardian it was not unusual or unexpected for an experimental spaceflight to develop issues. “It’s defined as a test mission, it’s called a crewed test flight, and one of its things is to deal with unplanned issues,” said Jerry Stone, senior associate of the Space Studies Institute and author of One Small Step. But the stakes are high for Boeing, which has been battling a PR crisis for the last few years over its aircraft. At the company’s last press conference about the Starliner, Mark Nappi, Boeing’s commercial crew program manager, said he regretted being so “emphatic” about how the mission would last only eight days. “It’s my regret that we didn’t just say we’re going to stay up there until we get everything done that we want to go do,” Nappi said. Nasa is expected to hold a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, its first since 25 July.