FILE PHOTO: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying two astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT), is launched on a mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Steve Nesius/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule that left two NASA astronauts on the International Space Station last year may need to fly a third uncrewed test flight before it carries astronauts again, agency officials said as the spacecraft's first crew had to return to Earth on a SpaceX capsule this week.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who rode Boeing's crew capsule to the ISS last year, splashed down on Tuesday in SpaceX's Dragon capsule amidst a lengthy effort by Boeing to fix Starliner's faulty propulsion system, which had caused their eight-day test mission to stretch into a nine-month stay in space.
