The US space agency has selected SpaceX to bring home two astronauts who were forced to extend their stay at the International Space Station due to major technical issues with Boeing’s space capsule. NASA announced that it was too risky to bring back two astronauts in Boeing’s troubled new capsule, resulting in a contingency plan for SpaceX to transport them back to Earth. This marks a significant setback for Boeing and adds to the safety concerns plaguing the company on its airplane side.
Boeing had hoped that Starliner’s first crew trip would revive the troubled program after years of delays and ballooning costs, but these latest issues have cast doubt on the capsule’s reliability. NASA is not giving up on Boeing entirely and still holds out hope that Starliner’s problems can be corrected in time for another crew flight in the future. In the meantime, SpaceX continues to demonstrate its success with astronaut transport and is now responsible for bringing home NASA astronauts who have been stranded at the International Space Station due to the failures of Boeing’s space capsule.
