LOS ANGELES, March 31 (Xinhua) -- NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore said on Monday he should have asked more questions about Starliner to prevent subsequent issues, adding that both Boeing and NASA share responsibility for the challenges encountered.

Wilmore and fellow NASA astronaut Suni Williams held their first press briefing on Monday after their return to Earth earlier this month.

The astronauts refrained from assigning blame to any specific organization but emphasized their collective responsibility.

"There were some issues, of course, that happened with Starliner ... there were some issues, of course, that happened that prevented us from returning on Starliner," he said. "And I'll start with me, there were questions that I as the commander of the spacecraft that I should have asked. And I did not at the time. I didn't know I needed to."

"I could have asked some questions and the answers to those questions could have turned the tide," Wilmore added.

"Responsibility with Boeing? Yes. Responsibility with NASA? Yes. All the way up and down the chain. We're all responsible. We all own this," he said.

Despite the challenges, both astronauts expressed confidence in Boeing's Starliner and their intention to fly aboard the spacecraft again. "Because we're going to rectify all the issues that we encountered. We're going to fix them. We're going to make it work," Wilmore said.

Williams noted that Starliner has "a lot of capability" and she wants to see it succeed.

The team will meet with Boeing leadership on Wednesday to discuss the spacecraft's future.

Williams and Wilmore returned to Earth, along with their fellow Crew-9 members, on March 18 after spending over nine months in space.

The duo astronauts arrived at ISS on June 6 on the first crewed mission of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. They were meant to return after about eight days, but have been stuck in space since then due to technical problems of the spacecraft.

The Starliner experienced several technical issues, including helium leaks and propulsion malfunctions, leading NASA to deem the spacecraft unsafe for the astronauts' return.

While the Starliner returned to Earth last September, Williams and Wilmore remained aboard the ISS as part of the station's regular crew rotation, ultimately completing over 280 days in space before their return.

Following their landing, Wilmore and Williams participated in NASA's post-mission recovery program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to help them readjust to Earth's gravity. Enditem

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