NASA's Crucial Decision: Will Boeing's Starliner Safely Bring Astronauts Back to Earth?
NASA to Announce Safety Verdict for Boeing's Starliner Capsule Amid Concerns NASA is gearing up to make a critical decision this Saturday on whether Boeing's new Starliner capsule is safe enough to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams back from space. The astronauts have been stationed on the International Space Station (ISS) since June, waiting for a safe return amid a series of technical malfunctions aboard the Starliner. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station on the company’s Orbital Flight Test-2 mission. Credit: NASA The capsule, part of Boeing's first-ever astronaut mission, experienced thruster failures and helium leaks, prompting NASA to reconsider its return plans. A decision, expected to be announced after a high-level meeting chaired by NASA's top officials, could either greenlight Starliner for return or leave the task to SpaceX, delaying the astronauts' return until February 202...