"Williams' crewmate on Boeing's ill-fated capsule test flight, Butch Wilmore, left NASA last summer. The pair launched to the space station in 2024, the first people to fly Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule. Their mission should have lasted just a week, but stretched to more than nine months because of Starliner trouble. In the end, they caught a ride home last March with SpaceX."
"Boeing's next Starliner mission will carry cargo - not people - to the space station. NASA wants to make sure all of the capsule's thruster and other issues are solved before putting anyone on board. The trial run will take place later this year. Williams, 60, a former Navy captain from Needham, spent more than 27 years at NASA, logging 608 days in space over three station missions. She also set a record for the most spacewalking time by a woman: 62 hours during nine excursions."
Suni Williams retired from NASA effective at the end of December after more than 27 years with the agency. She and Butch Wilmore launched to the International Space Station in 2024 aboard Boeing's new Starliner, intended as a short mission but extended to over nine months due to capsule problems; they returned on a SpaceX flight last March. Boeing's next Starliner mission will be an uncrewed cargo trial to confirm thruster and other fixes before any crewed flights. Williams logged 608 days in space over three station missions and set a women's spacewalk record of 62 hours across nine excursions. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman called her a trailblazer in human spaceflight.
Read at Boston.com
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