NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has shared his thoughts about the delay surrounding Boeing's Starliner in bringing astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station (ISS). his comments came after a NASA press call yesterday that further extended the time the agency and Boeing are taking to analyze Starliner's data before they make a final call. As of now, the decision will be made next week, and in his remarks, Nelson said he appreciated his agency's teams that were working to ensure the crew's safe return.
He stressed that crew safety is NASA's first priority for the crew's return and added that they were making meaningful contributions to science activities on board the station.
NASA Administrator Stresses Crew Safety Is Agency's First Priority
NASA's press call yesterday was notable for the absence of Boeing and NASA's commercial crew managers whose teams are responsible for analyzing Starliner's data to. ensure whether the ship is capable of returning crew back to Earth. However, during the call, agency officials did share that the next review which will finally decide the crew's fate is slated to take place next week as NASA has to carefully plan operations on board the space station.
Following the call, Nelson took to X and publicly shared his thoughts on Starliner's delay for the first time since it was confirmed. He thanked NASA's teams working on the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test and appreciated the work being done by Wilmore and Williams on board the ISS. "Butch and Suni are doing well on the International Space Station," Nelson commented, adding that they are continuing "to complete important tasks alongside the Expedition 71 crew."
Along with Wilmore and Williams, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Tracy Dyson, Don Pettit, Mathew Dominick and Mike Barratt are part of the astronaut complement that is currently inhabiting the ISS. Some of the work that Boeing's crew has done so far in space includes conducting kidney and bladder stone scans, repairing the station's exercise machine, working with ISS' water system and examining Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo ship after its ISS docking.
Nelson also stressed that Wilmore and Williams' safety is NASA's top concern when deciding their return journey. He shared that "NASA is evaluating every option to ensure Butch and Suni's safe return," at a time when the space agency has tried to squeeze the maximum amount of time possible before it has to make a definitive decision to decide whether to undock Starliner from the ISS with or without its crew.
According to the associate administrator for space operations, Ken Bowersox, NASA will hold a flight readiness review by the end of next week at the earliest to make this decision. NASA is also eager to ensure continued access to space through Starliner, and a potential un crewed return might not render the ship ineligible for future crewed missions to the ISS.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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