NASA confirms Boeing Starliner astronauts will return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon

It's official: NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in February 2025. Let's dive into the specifics of how it will happen, how (and why) NASA made this difficult decision, how the astronauts are handling it, and what the future of Boeing Starliner might be.

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⏱ TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Introduction
01:18 - How the mission will happen
03:34 - About NASA's decision
08:12 - The future of Boeing Starliner
12:39 - Butch and Suni

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[minigpracing]

Look, Boeing needs to prove they can get at least one resupply flight where nothing goes wrong before putting people back on one.

[davidelang]

a couple comments

1. the recent SpaceX launches to the ISS have been return-to-launch-site with short nozzle 2nd stages, they could carry more payload with a full length 2nd stage nozzle or a drone ship landing

2. this is likely to be the last NASA flight for Butch and Sunni, so I am very sure that getting 8 months instead of 8 days thrills them (you don't get to be a NASA Astronaut unless you want to go to space more then just about anything)

3. I don't believe that Boeing has enough data to fix the Starliner, but I do believe that they (and NASA) now have enough data to know what to look for and how to design additional tests to dig deeper into the problem and to be able to test possible fixes that are proposed. I just hope (for Boeing's sake) that this isn't going to require a major redesign of the service module. dealing with heat problems could very well require moving a lot of stuff (and updating software to know about different thruster positions, etc), so this could be a major problem for Starliner, while not touching the capsule itself.

good overview of the situation.

[stusacks]

Ad Astra is becoming one of my favorite YouTube channels. I always look forward to your videos.

[terpcj]

It's hard not to wonder how far Sierra Nevada would have gotten (with the extra funding, etc.) had NASA picked them instead of Boeing for CC ten years ago. That they made a cargo-only variant and are relatively close to launch instead of just folding up their tent says a lot. Now all they have to do is not screw the pooch.

[Cameeb]

I recently found this channel, nice work

[karlthemel]

The scary bit about Starliner is Boeing´s corporate culture.

[sfreni]

Your video was in my recommended list. Thank you for the clear and informative content.

[CMs]

What happens if the Starliner doesn’t make it back in one piece?

[sewasewa]

Very good videos and no false tagging. Well balanced views and depth. Boeing Starliner assessment. In case of emergency Butch and Sunita are safer unsuited on Space Dragon than suited on Boeing Starliner. 😮. May the pension fund $Ms of the CEOs be safer.

[Sonni.B.Hansen]

Love your program, good updates and nice presentation, looking forward to every new post you make

[phillipbailey]

Loved the fact that auto sub titles called it the "Crude Flight Test" rather than "Crewed"😆

[hansschmidt]

Hands down the best space news YouTube channel. Great work Swapna. We appreciate all the effort you put into doing these videos. You deserve a much larger following. I hope that you hang in there and keep the videos coming!

[phillipbailey]

Yay! Package that brand Swapna - another brilliant episode. This is now my favourite Space channel (don't tell Scott, Marcus or Felix LOL!!)

[JohnBare]

I concur with your assessment of the situation with whole situation with Starliner and the decision to shoehorn Butch and Suni into the normal crew rotation so they can avoid returning on Starliner due to it's Unknown Unknowns at this time. It is a bonus for Butch And Suni to have a long duration mission instead of the very short flight they were originally targeting as they are both veteran Astronauts and likely would not get another spaceflight let alone a full duration ISS tour. NASA needs to fly their unflown people while there is still somewhere for them to go so flown people are not a priority for long duration missions. Moon slots will be for the new generation of astronauts. Providing they ever actually do have moon missions. There are too many political unknowns to count on any rocket systems or particular missions playing out with the 4 to 8 year revamping of missions and goals due to a change of occupancy at the White House and the Senate and House of Representatives leading to nothing getting done but plenty of Billions being flushed down the tubes. Not an opinion, history! China is making positive headway with their space program because they have only one direction, forward. Not one step forward, three steps back.

[alexanderSydneyOz]

Personally I would think those to are effing overjoyed to be there for 6 months. You think of all the time in their lives that has been invested in being an astronaut. I will hazardous that bar this misadventure there's no way either of them would have been lucky enough to go to the ISS for an extended mission, again. Happy days

[geraldscott]

This 8 month deal is ridiculous. Don't tell me that SpaceX can't get a Crew Dragon up there to pick them up in a lot less time than that. They were not prepared for such a long stay, and will likely develop serious problems because of it.

[ARWest-bpyb]

Ortberg is an engineer so hopefully that's a good sign as far as getting Boeing back on track.🤞

[ChrisSmith-tcdf]

Per FAA rules, does Boeing need to reimburse them for food and lodging?

[paulbugnacki]

Great coverage on this issue. Thanks for getting this out quickly.

[ronbigalke]

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said it best. "...Suni and Butch get a full long-duration mission - what astronauts work their entire career for. I’d take it in a heartbeat!"