NASA will hold a press conference on Saturday, August 24, to announce a decision regarding the return of two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station.
It has been over two months since the Boeing Starliner launched on a mission that was supposed to last one week. Due to helium leaks and thruster problems, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have remained aboard the International Space Station while NASA and Boeing officials assess the safety of their return to Earth.
Initially, NASA had planned to use the Starliner for their return journey. However, ongoing issues with the spacecraft’s thrusters have raised concerns, leading NASA to consider using a SpaceX Dragon for the astronauts’ return trip instead.
If a Dragon is used, the plan would be to send two new crew members on a mission known as Crew-9 to the space station. Wilmore and Williams would then join this crew and return together in February of next year.
Despite being a safer option given the Dragon’s reliable track record, switching from the Starliner to the Dragon could pose challenges for NASA and Boeing and require adjustments to crew assignments on the space station.
NASA’s press conference on Saturday will reveal whether the agency will proceed with using the Starliner or switch to the Dragon for the astronauts’ return journey.
The meeting follows a review of the Starliner mission at the agency level, where NASA leaders discuss the latest data and potential outcomes. NASA’s engineering teams are also working on new thruster models to improve predictions of their performance during the return journey.
The NASA briefing can be watched via the embedded video below, starting at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT).
