A short trip to the International Space Station (ISS) could turn into eight months for two NASA astronauts if they have to switch from Boeing to SpaceX to get home.
There is uncertainty about the safety of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, NASA officials said Wednesday. The space agency is not unanimous on the risks.
As a result, it's likely that test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will have to watch from the ISS as their Starliner takes off and returns to Earth empty.
If that happens, NASA would leave two of the four astronauts who are set to fly on SpaceX’s next launch in late September, leaving Wilmore and Williams free for the return trip in February. The pair were originally expected to be gone for just a week or two when they launched on June 5 as Starliner’s first crew.
NASA is bringing in additional experts to analyze the Starliner’s thruster failure before docking, as NASA increasingly considers SpaceX more of a backup.
At this point, “We could go either way,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Chief.
At a recent meeting, “We heard a lot of concerns, and the decision is not clear,” he said. A final decision is expected by mid-August.
Boeing issued a brief statement following NASA's update, reiterating its view that the capsule could still safely bring astronauts home.
“We still believe in Starliner's capabilities and the rationale for its flight,” the company said.
Boeing will need to modify the capsule's software if Starliner ultimately returns without a crew.
There is no serious consideration of launching a separate SpaceX rocket just to pick up Wilmore and Williams, according to commercial crew program manager Steve Stich.
Ground tests have replicated the thrust problem, suggesting that the seal layer was partly to blame. But it’s not yet understood how or why the layer swells when it overheats and then shrinks back to its proper size, Stich said. All but one of the five failed Starliner thrusters have been reactivated in orbit.
The thrusters are critical to allowing Starliner to retreat from the space station after undocking, as well as to keep the capsule in the proper position for deorbit.
At the same time, engineers are grappling with a helium leak in the Starliner’s thruster jet system, which is critical to maneuvering. The first leak occurred before liftoff but was considered isolated and stable. More later in flight.
NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS after the space shuttle was retired in 2011. SpaceX flew its first crew in 2020. Boeing stumbled on its first uncrewed test flight, and then fell further behind after a repeat demonstration.
The next crew flight will be SpaceX's 10th for NASA.
On Tuesday (August 6), the flight was postponed for a month until the end of September to allow additional time to figure out how to best handle Starliner's return.
Three NASA astronauts and one Russian astronaut are assigned to the flight, and managers on Wednesday declined to say who will be forced to miss the flight. (th/ab)
