“But within a day of launching, Starliner leaked helium and five of its thrusters failed off.”
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5 for an eight-day test flight. Several team members polled no-go on bringing them home in Starliner, and NASA announced on August 24 that the capsule returns empty. The astronauts now ride home on a SpaceX Dragon no earlier than late February 2025. Boeing conceded the call was NASA’s to make, and SpaceX gets the return trip.