NASA managers will decide whether Boeing's Starliner can safely deliver the crew to Earth

NASA engineers met on Friday to review test results and make recommendations on whether to return the two astronauts to Earth aboard Boeing's Starliner, or to leave them in orbit for another six months and return them home aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, UNN reports, citing CBS News. 

Details

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other senior managers of the agency were scheduled to meet on Saturday morning at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to review the data collected to date and decide on further actions.

Although nothing official has been said or leaked, insiders say the most likely scenario, given the risk aversion after Columbia, is to leave Starliner Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams aboard the station and land the Starliner without a crew to complete the disappointing test flight.

Nelson has not yet said what his position on this issue is.

If the Crew Dragon scenario is chosen, which is scheduled to launch on September 24, it will take off with only two of the four crew members on board, freeing up two seats for Wilmore and Williams, and the two Crew 9 pilots will return to Earth next February.

According to the sources, if this option is implemented, the Starliner can undock as early as September 6, which will allow for unmanned reentry and landing in White Sands, New Mexico.

Addendum

The Starliner's ability to safely deliver its crew back to Earth has been called into question, given multiple helium leaks in the ship's propulsion system and reduced thrust from five maneuvering engines that appeared the day after the launch on June 5.

If they return from Crew Dragon, the Starliner crew's mission, which was supposed to last just over a week, will stretch to 268 days - almost nine months.