On Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, Ferguson removed himself from the first Starliner crew, citing his daughters wedding in 2021.
(James Blair/NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The commander of Boeing’s first astronaut flight has pulled himself off the crew so he’s on Earth — not at the International Space Station — for his daughter’s wedding next year.
He has been replaced on the Starliner crew by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, who had been training as a backup for the test flight.
In December or early January, Boeing plans to repeat a Starliner test flight without a crew, in hopes of reaching the space station this time.
SpaceX, meanwhile, plans to launch its second astronaut flight at the end of this month.