NASA managers to decide whether Boeing's Starliner can safely bring crew back to Earth
CBSN
NASA engineers met Friday to review test results and make recommendations on whether to bring two astronauts back to Earth aboard Boeing's Starliner ferry ship or keep them in orbit an additional six months and bring them home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other senior agency managers planned to meet Saturday morning at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to review the data collected to date and to make a decision on how to proceed.
While nothing official has been said or leaked, insiders say the most likely scenario, given the risk-averse post-Columbia environment, is to keep Starliner commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams aboard the station and to bring the Starliner down without a crew to close out a disappointing test flight.
Los Angeles firefighters have made progress containing wildfires that have claimed at least 10 lives and caused unprecedented damage. In the weeks ahead, officials and residents will examine whether local authorities' warnings and early responses adequately prepared the city for the escalating crisis.