NASA is currently deliberating whether to keep astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at the International Space Station until early next year, opting to send their problematic Boeing capsule back to Earth without them. Instead of returning in Boeing’s Starliner, the two astronauts might catch a ride on SpaceX’s next flight, which would extend their stay at the space station until February.
Originally, Wilmore and Williams planned to be away for merely a week as they embarked on Starliner’s inaugural crew mission. However, the capsule encountered thruster failures and helium leaks on its journey to the station, casting doubts on its ability to return safely and leaving the astronauts in a state of uncertainty.
NASA officials are analyzing more data before making a final decision by next week. The thrusters are essential for maintaining the capsule’s proper orientation during descent from orbit. “We’ve got time available before we bring Starliner home and we want to use that time wisely,” stated Ken Bowersox, NASA’s space operations mission chief.
NASA’s safety chief, Russ DeLoach, emphasized the need for thorough analysis, remarking, “We don’t have enough insight and data to make some sort of simple, black-and-white calculation.” DeLoach added that the agency aims to consider all opinions, a lesson learned from past shuttle tragedies, Challenger and Columbia, where dissenting views were overlooked. “That may mean, at times, we don’t move very fast because we’re getting everything out,” he explained.
Switching to SpaceX would necessitate bumping two of the four astronauts assigned to its next ferry flight, slated for late September. Wilmore and Williams would take the empty seats in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule post the half-year mission’s conclusion. Another complexity is that the space station has only two docking ports for U.S. capsules. Boeing’s capsule would need to depart before SpaceX’s Dragon arrives to clear a docking spot.
Boeing maintains that Starliner can still safely return the astronauts to Earth. The company recently published a list of thruster tests conducted both in space and on the ground since liftoff. NASA prefers to keep SpaceX’s current crew at the station until their replacements come, barring any emergencies. The four astronauts currently on board were supposed to return this month but had their mission extended by a month due to uncertainties surrounding Starliner. Most space station missions last six months, although some extend to a year.
Wilmore and Williams, both retired Navy captains with previous experience on the space station, quickly adapted to their roles, assisting with experiments and repairs upon arrival. “They will do what we ask them to do. That’s their job as astronauts,” noted NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba. He added, “This mission is a test flight and as Butch and Suni expressed ahead of their launch, they knew this mission might not be perfect.”
NASA aims to have multiple options for astronaut transport, having contracted SpaceX and Boeing after retiring the space shuttles in 2011. SpaceX launched its first astronaut flight in 2020, while Boeing’s initial unscrewed test flight in 2019 faced so many issues that a repeat was mandated. Ongoing problems have cost Boeing over $1 billion to rectify before the company could finally proceed with crewed flights.
