It’s looking more likely that test pilots Sunni Williams and Butch Wilmore won’t be going Boeing for their trip back to earth from the International Space Station. Instead, there are reports now leaking out of NASA that a SpaceX Dragon capsule will do a quick turnaround launch from Cape Canaveral to pick them up and take them home. Before that can happen, the problem-plagued Starliner crew capsule that took them to the ISS will be sent back empty to make room for the Dragon to dock. Several space publications are reporting anonymous sources as saying there’s at least an even chance the Starliner will be considered too risky for an occupied reentry.
The decision will likely be announced soon because there’s a long-scheduled Dragon flight scheduled to bring four long-term tenants to the ISS on Aug. 18. The sources are now saying that flight, dubbed Crew Nine, will be pushed to Sept. 24 and two pilots will take their capsule to the ISS for the sole purpose of picking up Williams and Wilmore, who NASA continues to insist are not “stranded” on the station. The Crew Nine mission is supposed to take three NASA astronauts and one Russian to the ISS for a six-month rotation. The Starliner has major issues with its maneuvering thrusters and has sprung at least five helium leaks.
