Now that Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are safe home on Earth, NASA and Boeing are turning to the original cause of their extended stay on the International Space Station.

They are figuring out what to do about the Boeing Starliner.

Williams and Wilmore originally flew to the International Space Station aboard a Starliner. NASA only intended for them to remain in the orbiting laboratory for eight days. But because of problems with the thrusters and helium leaks, the eight-day mission stretched into nine months before the astronauts could return home on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon. The Starliner they flew up on returned to Earth without them.

Starliner’s trip to the International Space Station was more fraught with danger than was hitherto revealed. At one point, it was questionable whether the vehicle could approach the space station or whether it would have to abort and return to Earth. It took some top-notch piloting by Wilmore to bring the spacecraft to the space station.

To quote the Duke of Wellington, NASA and Boeing have decided regarding Starliner that they are “in for a penny, in for a pound." They plan to study and fix the problems plaguing the rival spacecraft to the SpaceX Crew Dragon and bring it to operational status, no matter........

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