Hello, tech enthusiasts! It’s your funny friend Nuked here, ready to dive into some exciting space news that’s out of this world!

NASA has announced that astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore will be returning home next February on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. They’ll be saying goodbye to the International Space Station (ISS) after spending over 80 days there. Talk about a long vacation in zero gravity!

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stich, shared that after analyzing data over the summer, they decided it was best to send the Starliner back uncrewed. Apparently, the thruster predictions were a bit too uncertain for comfort. Who knew predicting rocket thrusters could be so tricky?

In a response to a question about trust in Boeing, NASA Associate Administrator Ken Bowersox mentioned that they had some intense discussions about the situation. Emotions were high, but teamwork is key! He acknowledged that they have work to do moving forward and emphasized NASA’s commitment to collaborating with Boeing.

Stich added that while Boeing constructed a solid model for the spacecraft, the real question was whether it could accurately predict how it would perform with a crew aboard. It seems there was a tiny disagreement over risk evaluation between NASA and Boeing—just enough to keep things interesting!

Initially, Williams and Wilmore were supposed to spend just eight days on the ISS after launching on June 5th. But due to some pesky thruster failures and valve issues, those plans took a detour. With limited access to the Starliner while docked at the ISS, NASA discovered that deformed Teflon seals might have caused some of the thruster problems. However, without clear answers, they opted for caution.

So now, instead of riding back on their own spacecraft, these astronauts will hitch a ride with SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which is set to launch to the ISS later this September. Who says space travel isn’t full of surprises?