NASA has postponed a routine launch of SpaceX astronauts to the International Space Station for a month to allow more time to analyze problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which is still docked to the station.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying four astronauts, was scheduled to launch to the International Space Station on Aug. 18, but NASA said Tuesday that the mission, called Crew-9, would not take place until Sept. 24.
NASA said the delay gives mission managers more time to complete planning for the return of Boeing’s crewed test flight, which is currently docked with the orbiting laboratory.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launched in June, carrying its first two astronauts, to the International Space Station on a high-stakes but necessary test mission for NASA’s certification of the vehicle for routine astronaut flights, a feat achieved by SpaceX’s similar Crew Dragon capsule in 2020.
But the Starliner test mission, which was initially expected to last about eight days, was prolonged by a series of problems with the vehicle’s propulsion system, which Boeing and NASA are working hard to fix.
The problems have raised questions about Starliner’s ability to safely return its crew of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth, and NASA is considering whether to fly them back aboard the Crew Dragon capsule instead.
