Welcome back to JS Space: NASA’s Decision to Bring Starliner Home Empty

After much deliberation, NASA leadership has announced their decision regarding the return of Starliner to Earth. The spacecraft will be coming back in September, but it will be empty, without a crew on board. This decision comes after months of data analysis and internal discussions within NASA.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized the importance of safety in spaceflight, stating, “Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. The decision to keep astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams aboard the International Space Station while bringing back Starliner uncrewed reflects our commitment to safety as our core value and guiding principle.”

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams – Image Credits: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP / Getty Images

Meanwhile, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will continue their mission aboard the International Space Station until February 2025. They are scheduled to return to Earth on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft as part of the Crew-9 mission.

As the demand for orbital launches grows globally, the competition among space companies to develop advanced launch vehicles intensifies. From medium to heavy and super-heavy lift rockets, the landscape of space exploration is evolving rapidly. Here’s an overview of the current and upcoming launch vehicles.

From left: Starship, New Glenn, Neutron, and Terran R. – Image Credits: SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Relativity

In other space news, NASA’s Voyager 2 probe achieved a significant milestone on August 26, 1981, when it made its closest encounter with Saturn at a distance of just 63,000 miles. Voyager 2 conducted flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, becoming the second spacecraft to enter interstellar space. The probe transmitted over 16,000 images of the Saturn system before concluding its observations on September 28.

For more updates and insights on the latest developments in space exploration and technology, stay tuned to JS Space. To share your tips or feedback, you can reach out to Aria at aria.techcrunch@gmail.com or connect with the JS team at tips@techcrunch.com. Secure communication options are also available for confidential information sharing.