Plans on how to bring home two American astronauts stranded at the International Space Station are still up in the air, but NASA says it might call on SpaceX to shuttle them back to Earth – a move that would be another blow to embattled aerospace giant Boeing.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were flown to space on Boeing's Starliner on June 5, but remain stuck on the ISS now two months past their planned return after the spacecraft they arrived on was discovered to have helium leaks and propulsion system issues.
While no contingency plan has been reached, NASA is considering sending Wilmore and Williams home on the NASA SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which would take off in September with two astronauts and return home in February 2025 with four, NASA said during a phone briefing with reporters earlier this week.
If that happens, it would represent the latest in a string of embarrassing, and sometimes deadly, incidents involving Boeing.
BOEING ‘FIGHTING THROUGH CHALLENGES’ THAT HAVE DELAYED NEW AIR FORCE ONE PLANES
Boeing has fallen under increased scrutiny since a door flew off one of its aircraft mid-air during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
At least a dozen Boeing whistleblowers have come forward citing concerns over the company's quality assurance and culture since the Alaska Airlines incident, and the plane manufacturer is currently under investigation by multiple federal agencies.
NEW BOEING CEO FOCUSED ON RESTORING TRUST: ‘WE CLEARLY HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO’
Last month, Boeing pleaded guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge to avoid a criminal trial in connection with a Justice Department investigation into two deadly crashes involving the company's 737 MAX jetliners.
The criminal case relates to two 737 MAX jetliner crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019 in which 346 people were killed, leading to demands from the victims' families for Boeing to face prosecution.
Boeing has brought in a new CEO, Kelly Ortgerg, to right the ship at the planemaker. In a letter to employees on Thursday, his first day on the job, Ortberg acknowledged, "we clearly have a lot of work to do in restoring trust."
In the meantime, Boeing is standing by its Starliner capsule and the Boeing Flight Crew Test (Boe-CFT) with NASA – the first crewed mission by the spacecraft.
"CFT is currently a crewed mission, and we still believe in Starliner’s capability and its flight rationale," a Boeing spokesperson told FOX Business on Thursday. "If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return."
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FOX Business' Landon Mion and FOX News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
