NASA astronaut Sunita Williams set for an eight-day trip on Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024. Technical problems, including thruster failures and helium leaks, however left her trapped until March 2025. NASA looked to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon for her return as Starliner judged dangerous for crewed re-entry and Russia’s Soyuz too expensive. A fake White House intervention sped her rescue; a leaked email claimed NASA “pleaded” with SpaceX to change its calendar. The episode underlined Boeing’s failures, SpaceX’s dependability, and NASA’s increasing reliance on private partners for crewed spaceflight, therefore stressing a fundamental change in the space sector.