Starliner returns without Sunita Williams. What next for the astronaut now?

The highly anticipated manned Boeing Starliner space mission ended on Friday after the spacecraft parachuted into New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range. The spacecraft returned to Earth empty, months after taking astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to space in June this year.

The two test pilots are still in space and are unlikely to return this year. Williams and Wilmore will remain at ISS for the next few months unless SpaceX's Dragon doesn't reach the International Space Station. Here's the full update of what will happen to Sunita Williams after Boeing Starliner's return.

Why did Boeing Starliner leave without Sunita Williams?

Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were scheduled to fly Starliner back to Earth by mid-June. But Boeing Starliner's first astronaut ride faced significant hurdles in the form of repeated helium leaks and other technical snags in the capsule in space. Amid speculations about the safety of the two astronauts in their return spaceflight, NASA decided that it was too risky for them to return on Starliner.

What will happen to Sunita Williams now?

Sunita Williams, along with Butch Wilmore, have to wait in space for a few more months before returning to the Earth on Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's Dragon. After announcing the two astronauts' return on Boeing Starliner as “too risky” NASA confirmed that Suni and Butch will return to Earth with SpaceX Dragon. The SpaceX ride would launch nearly at the end of the month and will stay in space till February.

Earlier, the Dragon spaceflight was scheduled to carry four astronauts. However, the number has been cut to half to occupy Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on the return flight. A few weeks ago, NASA announced the name of the astronauts for its SpaceX Crew-9 mission ahead of its launch in September 2024.

Astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov have been declared as the commander and mission specialist for SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, who were earlier set to fly in space, have been reassigned for future missions.