NASA outlines backup plan to get Starliner crew back to Earth from International Space Station if Boeing ship can't bring them home
CBSN
As NASA debates the safety of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in the wake of multiple helium leaks and thruster issues, the agency is "getting more serious" about a backup plan to bring the ship's two crew members back to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, officials said Wednesday.
In that case — and no final decisions have been made — Starliner commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams would remain aboard the International Space Station for another six months and come down on a Crew Dragon that's scheduled for launch Sept. 24 to carry long-duration crew members to the outpost.
Two of the four "Crew 9" astronauts already assigned to the Crew Dragon flight would be bumped from the mission and the ship would be launched with two empty seats. Wilmore and Williams then would return to Earth next February with the two Crew 9 astronauts.
