NASA has once again pushed back the decision on Boeing Starliner astronauts' return.
According to Live Science, the official of the agency informed that the return of the spacecraft with two astronauts has been pushed back to late August, citing pending ‘major discussions’ on flight readiness.
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, said at a news conference on Wednesday, August 14, “It's a fairly major discussion to decide whether or not we're going to have crew on board for Starliner's return.”
He further added, “We're expecting that the data analysis will be ready for a program board by the middle to end of next week and will be ready for a flight readiness review around the end of next week."
Moreover, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which was supposed to be in space for only 8 days, faced technical issues, including numerous, on its way back to the International Space Station (ISS) in June.
The technical issues have forced two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, to stay in space for more than two months.
It is worth knowing that NASA is still figuring out whether it is safe to bring them back on Starliner or to bring them back on SpaceX Dragon after six months.
