NASA has halted all future Boeing space mission due to its malfunctioned Starliner that left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS).
The agency revealed this week that Elon Musk's SpaceX will become the frontrunner 2025 launches, leaving Boeing completely off the schedule.
SpaceX has been tapped to rescue astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore who have been on the ISS for four months when it brings them back to Earth next February, while the mission was schedule for about one week.
NASA said on Tuesday that the decision to remove Boeing was to get a better understand of what went wrong when the spacecraft failed its mission, which saw several leaks during the 24-hour journey to the orbiting laboratory in July.
'The timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established,' NASA stated Tuesday.
'This determination will include considerations for incorporating Crew Flight Test lessons learned, approvals of final certification products, and operational readiness,' the agency added.
Prior to Starliner's disastrous first crewed test flight, NASA had high hopes for the spacecraft, targeting early 2025 for the launch of its first operational mission.
But now, it's unclear when Boeing will achieve the necessary certification to allow Starliner to fly crewed missions again.
NASA is weighing different options for the spacecraft's system certification, including 'windows of opportunity for a potential Starliner flight in 2025,' the agency said. But it's unclear this flight could have a crew on board.
Williams and Wilmore launched toward the ISS aboard Boeing's Starliner on June 5.
The spacecraft - which was built and developed using over $4 billion of taxpayer money - had been plagued by helium leaks and thruster issues in the weeks leading up to launch, and even on the day of.
Starliner safely delivered the two astronauts to the ISS, but by the time it got there, it had sprung more helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters had failed.
Williams and Wilmore were originally scheduled to spend only eight days on the ISS, but the technical issues with their spacecraft forced it to remained docked to the space station for three months.
And during this time, experts on the ground were debating whether it would be safe for them to return home on Starliner.
Ultimately, the spacecraft returned to Earth without its crew on September 7, leaving Williams and Wilmore stuck on the ISS until February 2025.
They should be able to return home with the Crew-9 mission that launched on September 28.
By that time, they will have spent eight months in space.
Last month, the stranded astronauts revealed they had rejected a rescue plan on Boeing's Starliner due to a 'lack of time.'
An option to have the astronauts return on the Starliner was considered but ultimately NASA decided that there were high risks associated and may cause their death.
In a press briefing, Wilmore said that they ran out of time to fully test the spacecraft's systems in order to make a decision on how to return.
The father-of-two explained they were unable to complete tests on the Starliner's onboard systems in time to avoid disrupting the ISS schedule for other spacecraft due to arrive in the coming months.
'There were things that we just could not get comfortable with. The data could have gotten there. We just simply ran out of time,' he said.
Wilmore acknowledged the series of mishaps, saying that there have been 'some trying times' since the start of their mission, and it was difficult to see Starliner return home without them.
Their extended stay has proven challenging for their families back on Earth as well. Wilmore and his wife have two daughters, one who is a senior in high school and another who is in college.
Wilmore said that the delayed return mission will cause him to miss out on most of his youngest daughter's senior year, and that he didn't get to spend the summer with his eldest before she went back to college.
But he hopes his absence will make them stronger. 'They're gonna learn from this, and they're gonna grow from this,' he said.
Sunita left her husband and two dogs back at home when Starliner lifted off over three months ago.
She said she misses taking her dogs out for a walk in the morning and hearing sounds of the day starting on Earth, like birds chirping.
But being able to watch her home planet go by out of the ISS window 'takes you to a different place, it's very peaceful up here,' she said.
In 2014, NASA signed $4.3 billion contracts with Boeing and SpaceX as part of the space agency's Commercial Crew Program, tasking them with developing spacecraft to carry crew and cargo to the ISS.
At that time, Boeing had already established a powerful reputation in the industry, whereas SpaceX was just joining the commercial space race.
But in the years since, SpaceX has proved a worthy competitor. Elon Musks' $200 billion company has already launched nine crewed missions to the ISS, while Boeing has yet to get certified for its first mission.
