NASA narrows Crew-9 lineup to accommodate astronauts aboard ISS

(Reuters) – NASA said on Friday it will replace two crew members for an upcoming SpaceX flight to accommodate the two astronauts aboard the International Space Station who had arrived on Boeing (NYSE:)’s faulty Starliner capsule.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, both former military test pilots who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will replace Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson on the SpaceX mission.

Last week, NASA officials deemed issues with Starliner’s propulsion system too risky to bring its first crew home as planned, dealing a major blow to Boeing’s struggling space program.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, initially set to launch four astronauts to the ISS on Aug. 18, has had its mission, dubbed Crew-9, rescheduled by NASA to “no earlier than” Sept. 24.

Cardman, initially selected as the mission’s commander, and Wilson, the mission specialist, remain eligible for reassignment to future missions, NASA said in a release.

Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will continue as part of the crew and fly back with Wilmore and Williams in February 2025.

Hague, originally designated as the pilot, will now take over as commander, while Gorbunov will retain his role as mission specialist, the space agency said.

NASA’s decision to enlist Boeing’s chief space rival, SpaceX, to return the astronauts marks another setback for the embattled U.S. planemaker and represents one of NASA’s most consequential decisions in years.

Boeing had pinned its space hopes on the success of the Starliner test mission, hoping it would redeem the troubled program after years of development challenges.