Boeing did not attend NASA’s press conference on Saturday, but issued a statement: “Boeing remains primarily focused on crew and spacecraft safety.” The company said it was preparing the spacecraft “for a safe and successful return.”
Rand Corp.’s Jan Osburg, a senior engineer specializing in aerospace and defense, said NASA made the right choice. “But the U.S. still faces embarrassment because there are problems with the Starliner design that should have been identified earlier.”
Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are both retired Navy captains with extensive experience in spaceflight. Before their June 5 launch from Cape Canaveral, Wilmore and Williams said their families accepted the uncertainty and stress of their careers decades ago.
During their only orbital press conference last month, the astronauts said they had confidence in the engine tests being conducted. They had no complaints, they added, and they enjoyed helping with work on the space station.
Wilmore’s wife, Deanna, was equally stoic in an interview with WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee, her home state, earlier this month. She was already prepared for a delay: “You just have to kind of accept it.”
Flight operations manager Norm Knight said he spoke to the astronauts on Saturday and they fully supported the decision to delay their return.
