Boeing Starliner astronauts would travel on spacecraft again in a ‘heartbeat’

The NASA astronauts who spent an unscheduled nine months on the International Space Station (ISS) have spoken confidently about the Boeing Starliner spacecraft’s future during a press conference. 

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore spoke publicly for the first time after they returned to Earth on March 18, 2025, aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule.  

The two astronauts blasted off to space on June 5, 2024, aboard the first-ever crewed Boeing CST-100 Starliner capsule a planned week-long mission. 

However, their Boeing Starliner capsule was beset by technical problems, and it was decided that the spacecraft should return to Earth unmanned.    

At the press conference on March 31, 2025, the two astronauts were asked if they would travel on the Boeing Starliner again in the future and the pair firmly backed the prospect.  

“We had a plan… We pivoted… Because we’re in human spaceflight, we prepare for any number of contingencies.” Hear more from Butch and Suni: pic.twitter.com/Yu5jtZrpFv— NASA (@NASA) March 31, 2025 “We are going to rectify all the issues that we encountered. We’re going to fix them. We’re going to make it work. Boeing is completely committed. NASA is completely committed and with that I would get on it with a heartbeat,” Wilmore said.  

Williams said she agreed and said that Starliner had a “lot of capabilities that other spacecraft don’t have”. 

Wilmore also said that he was partly to blame for the problems that the spacecraft encountered on its journey to the space station. 

“I’ll start and point the finger, and I’ll blame me. I could have asked some questions, and the answers to those questions could have turned the tide. All the way up and down the chain. We are all responsible. We all own this,” Wilmore said. 

The astronauts also hit back at the media narrative that they were stranded or “marooned” at ISS. 

NASA “The plan went way off from what we had planned but because we are in human space flight we plan for any number of contingencies. This is a curvy road, you never know where it’s going to go. We prepare for this,” Wilmore explained. 

On June 6, 2025, as Starliner approached the space station, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters.    

Following weeks of in-space and ground testing, technical interchange meetings, and agency reviews, NASA made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew.     

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