Cape Canaveral, Fla. – The commander of Boeing’s first astronaut flight has pulled himself out of the crew so he is on Earth – not on the International Space Station – for his daughter’s wedding next year.
Due to a software problem during the first test flight in December last year, there is another crew switch to Boeing’s Starliner capsule by the end of this year or early next year.
Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson announced his decision on Wednesday. Last year, NASA astronaut Eric Bow set aside the first Starliner crew for medical reasons. Both were replaced by experienced space astronauts.
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In a video posted on his Twitter accountIt was a difficult decision, but “next year is very important for my family,” Ferguson said. He said he has a number of commitments that I can’t risk missing. A Boeing spokesman has confirmed that one is his daughter’s wedding.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not just going into space next year, “Ferguson said. He insisted he was committed to the Starliner program and would continue to work for Boeing.
The former NASA astronaut has flown into space three times, ordering the last shuttle flight in 2011. He has been replaced by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore on the Starliner crew, which was training as a backup for the test flight. Wilmore joins NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Mike Finker, who replaced Bono.
In December or early January, Boeing plans to repeat the Starliner test flight without a crew, hoping to reach the space station this time. If all goes well, Wilmore, Fink and Mann will head to the space station next to a Starliner in early June 2021 and orbit for between two weeks and six months.
SpaceX, meanwhile, plans to launch its second astronaut flight later this month. Two NASA test pilots returned to Earth in August to close SpaceX’s first crew mission. NASA has switched astronauts from space stations to private companies.
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