Boeing has two astronauts stuck in space – and that’s not even their biggest problem

After years of delay, Boeing’s Starliner finally managed to take astronauts to the International Space Station, writes Andrew Griffin. But problems with the craft mean it’s unclear how or when they’re coming home again

The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking (NASA/Roscosmos)

The problems with Starliner – the spacecraft that is Boeing and Nasa’s big hope for the future of space travel – started early. It was supposed to take its first test flight with a crew in 2017, but it didn’t even get into crewless orbit until 2019. Even then that launch was beset by problems and the company did not try again until 2022.

So when it finally came around to setting off on its first flight with crew, it seemed almost expected to go wrong. And so it did: it was already seven years late, but it was delayed two more times, after a helium leak and then a problem with the power supply. It finally got going on 5 June, when it blasted off from Cape Canaveral, carrying two Nasa astronauts – Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams – to space.

The problems, however, were not left behind on Earth. As the spacecraft sailed towards the International Space Station, engineers spotted a run of helium leaks. Then it was delayed in its docking with the floating lab: the thrusters that steer it into its docking broke, which led to another delay.