Astronauts ‘absolutely not’ let down by Boeing’s problems with Starliner
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NASA's stranded Starliner astronauts said on Friday afternoon they are not let down by Boeing’s troubled spacecraft and shared their thoughts of having to watch their ride home return to Earth without them. The Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Cmdr. Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Sunita "Suni" Williams left Earth on Boeing's Starliner capsule on Wednesday, June 6, but will return home on SpaceX's Dragon capsule during the Crew-9 mission early next year. What was supposed to be an eightish-day mission has turned into an eight-month mission. After a series of issues with Boeing's Starliner — before, during and after the launch — NASA played it safe by bringing the spacecraft back to Earth empty.
Starliner returned safely from the International Space Station on Saturday, Sept. 7, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Since Wilmore and Williams will now return home on the SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, NASA had to cut the Crew-9 roster from four to two. But during a teleconference from the International Space Station on Friday afternoon, Wilmore and Williams said they were not disappointed by Boeing or the Starliner space capsule. “Let down?
Absolutely not. (It) never entered my mind,” Wilmore said when asked about his thoughts. “Ninety percent of our training is preparing for the unexpected. And sometimes the actual unexpected goes beyond what you even think could happen.