(Reuters) – NASA announced on Friday that two crew members will be replaced for an upcoming SpaceX flight to accommodate the astronauts aboard the International Space Station who arrived on Boeing’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 determined that issues with Starliner’s propulsion system were too risky to bring its first crew home as planned, dealing a significant blow to Boeing’s space program.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, originally scheduled to launch four astronauts to the ISS on Aug. 18, has had its mission, known as Crew-9, rescheduled by NASA to “no earlier than” Sept. 24.
Cardman, initially chosen as the mission’s commander, and Wilson, the mission specialist, remain eligible for reassignment to future missions, NASA stated in a release.
Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will continue as part of the crew and will fly back with Wilmore and Williams in February 2025.
Hague, who was originally the pilot, will now serve as the commander, while Gorbunov will retain his role as mission specialist, according to the space agency.
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