The Starliner-1 mission which included Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk will no longer carry astronauts, only cargo, creating uncertainty as to when Kutryk will begin his long duration mission on the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA made the announcement yesterday after agreeing with Boeing to modify their Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract. That contract specified that Boeing would perform six crewed missions to the ISS but that has been reduced to four “with the remaining two available as options.”
NASA said Starliner-1 “will be used by NASA to deliver necessary cargo to the orbital laboratory and allow in-flight validation of the system upgrades implemented following the Crew Flight Test mission last year.” That launch will happen no earlier than April 2026. Once that mission is completed and following Starliner certification, “Starliner will fly up to three crew rotations to the International Space Station.”
As for the other astronauts who had been assigned to the Starliner-1 mission, only Scott Tingle remained until recently. He had been named Commander of the mission in September 2022 was named chief of the Astronaut Office effective November 10. Several other NASA astronauts had been assigned to the mission only to be reassigned as time went by and the Starliner-1 mission continued to be delayed.
NASA had hoped that earlier problems with the Starliner crew capsule had been resolved and scheduled a Starliner Crew Flight Test for June 2024. While the mission did launch with veteran astronauts onboard, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, the mission was plagued with thruster problems and the crew capsule was deemed unsafe to return with the crew. What was supposed to be a eight day mission turned into an eight months long stay with the crew eventually returning to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. The Starliner capsule had been docked at the ISS 93 days before it returned safely but without its crew.
As for Kutryk and his mission, when he will fly and on what mission is now not known. At the time of publication we were waiting on the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for a statement. As to why a statement from the CSA was not coordinated with the NASA announcement remains unclear.