CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is grappling with how and when to bring two astronauts back from the International Space Station after Boeing repeatedly delayed their return to its troubled capsule.
Will they take a chance and send them home soon with Boeing’s Starliner? Or will they wait and bring them back next year with SpaceX?
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been there since early June, their planned eight-day mission set to wrap up in two months and likely lasting more than eight months.
Testing continues, Boeing says it is confident in the spacecraft, but NASA remains divided. A decision is expected next week.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH BOEING’S STARLINER AIRCRAFT?
This is Boeing’s first time launching astronauts since flying a pair of empty Starliners that suffered software and other issues. Even before Wilmore and Williams launched on June 5, a leak developed in the plumbing associated with propelling the capsules. Boeing and NASA determined that the small helium leak was fixed and isolated and continued the test flight. But four more leaks occurred the next day as the Starliner approached the space station. All five thrusters failed.
The capsule docked safely, and four of the thrusters eventually worked. But engineers scrambled to test-fire the thrusters on the ground and in space. Two months later, there is still no root cause for the thruster failures. All but one of the 28 thrusters appear to be fine, but there are fears that crew safety could be compromised if too many thrusters fail again. The thrusters are needed at the end of the flight to keep the capsule in the correct position for the critical deorbit burn.
TWO ASTRONAUTS LEFT IN THE MIDDLE?
NASA disputes suggestions that Wilmore and Williams were stranded or trapped. NASA has emphasized from the beginning that in the event of an emergency on the space station (such as a fire or decompression), the Starliner could be used as a lifeboat for the duo to leave. A former NASA administrator said Thursday that the astronauts were “kind of stuck” but definitely not stranded. Scott Hubbard said they were safe on the space station, with plenty of supplies and work to do.
If NASA decides to make a SpaceX return, the Starliner will be released first to make way for one of two parking spaces for U.S. capsules. Before that happens, Wilmore and Williams will design seats for themselves in the SpaceX Dragon capsule currently docked at the space station. That’s because every station occupant will always need a lifeboat. When the Starliner’s docking bay is empty, SpaceX can launch another Dragon to fill that slot — the one Wilmore and Williams will be riding in.
WHY MIGHT THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR?
Like Boeing’s Starliner, SpaceX’s Dragon is designed to carry four astronauts. To make room for Wilmore and Williams, NASA said Wednesday it may move two of the four astronauts due to launch to the space station with SpaceX next month forward. The empty seats will be reserved for Wilmore and Williams, but they will have to stay there until February. That’s because station missions are supposed to last at least six months. Some have lasted a year. The two Russians currently there will complete a one-year mission when they return in September in a three-person Soyuz capsule with a NASA crewmate. No special SpaceX express order is planned, and the Dragon at the station will be the four residents’ return trip home next month.
This isn’t the first time a U.S. astronaut has had their stay extended. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and two Russian crewmates spent a little over a year in space after their docked Soyuz capsule hit space debris and leaked all of its coolant. An empty Russian capsule was sent back to bring them back last September.
WHAT DO ASTRONAUTS THINK ABOUT THESE?
Wilmore and Williams are retired Navy captains and long-term NASA astronauts with long-term space station missions behind them. Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, said they expect to learn a lot about Starliner and how it works going into this test flight. In their only press conference from space in July, they told reporters that they have been busy helping with repairs and research, and that they are confident in all the Starliner testing that has been done behind the scenes. There has been no public statement yet about the possibility of an eight-month stay.
IS THERE ENOUGH FOOD, WATER AND AIR?
Wilmore and Williams’ luggage was removed from the Starliner before liftoff to make room for urgently needed equipment for the space station’s urine-to-drinking recycling system. So they made do with the spare suits they already had on hand. A supply ship finally arrived this week with their suits, plus extra food and science experiments for the entire nine-person crew. More supplies are expected to arrive in the next few months. As for air, the space station has its own oxygen-producing systems. Despite the oil reserves, NASA wants to get back to normal as soon as possible. Along with Wilmore and Williams, there are four other Americans and three Russians on board.
WHY IS NASA STAYING COMMITTED TO STARLINER?
NASA deliberately hired two companies to get its crew to and from the space station, as it does to deliver cargo. The space agency treated it as a kind of insurance policy: If one crew or cargo provider went down, the other could carry the payload. “You want to have an alternative, both in terms of cost and safety and options,” said Hubbard, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003. “That’s why NASA needs Boeing to be successful.”
Despite the recent setbacks, NASA has insisted it wants to continue using Boeing Starliners for astronaut travel. The goal is to send one Dragon and one Starliner with crew every year until the station is retired in 2030. SpaceX has been doing that since 2020.
WHAT DOES BOEING SAY?
Boeing insists its capsule can bring astronauts home safely. But the company said Wednesday it would take steps to return the capsule empty if NASA decides to do so. Last week, the company released a list of all tests conducted on the boosters since liftoff.
“We remain confident in Starliner’s capabilities and flight rationale,” the company said.
Longtime space contractor Boeing has had to navigate multiple Starliner issues over the years. The company had to launch an empty Starliner twice before committing to a crew by repeating its first flight test due to bad software and other issues. The delays cost the company more than $1 billion.
Hubbard questions whether NASA and Boeing should have launched the crew with the original helium leak that later led to other leaks.
“Whatever happens to Starliner, they need to find out what the problem is and fix it,” he said. “They need to reassure everyone that they are still very much in the aviation industry.”
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