CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is grappling with how and when to bring two astronauts back from the International Space Station after repeatedly delaying their return aboard Boeing’s malfunctioning capsule.
Will they take the risk and send them home soon on 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 has now become two months and could potentially last longer than eight months.
Testing continues, Boeing expresses confidence in its spacecraft, but NASA is divided. A decision is expected next week.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH BOEING’S STARLINER?
This is the first time Boeing has launched astronauts, following a flight of two empty Starliners that had software and other problems. Even before Wilmore and Williams took flight on June 5, their capsule sprang a leak in its thrust lines. Boeing and NASA deemed the small helium leak stable and isolated and proceeded with the test flight. But as Starliner approached the space station the next day, four more leaks burst. Five thrusters also failed.
The capsule docked safely and eventually four of the thrusters worked. But engineers rushed to test fire the thrusters on the ground and in space. After two months, no cause has been found for the thruster failures. All 28 thrusters appear to be fine except one, but there are fears that if too many fail again, the safety of the crew could be compromised. The thrusters are needed at the end of the flight to keep the capsule in the right position for the critical deorbit burn.
ARE THE TWO ASTRONAUTS STRANDED?
NASA has been upset by suggestions that Wilmore and Williams are stranded or stuck. NASA has stressed from the beginning that in an emergency on the space station — such as a fire or decompression — the Starliner could still be used by the pair as a lifeboat to get out. A former NASA administrator said Thursday that the astronauts are “kind of stuck,” though they are certainly not stranded. They are safe aboard the space station with plenty of supplies and work to do, Scott Hubbard said.
If NASA decides to go with a SpaceX return, Starliner would be the first to be released to free up one of the two parking spaces for American capsules. Before that happens, Wilmore and Williams would carve out seats for themselves in the SpaceX Dragon capsule currently docked with the space station. That’s because every resident of the station needs a lifeboat at all times. Once Starliner’s docking port is empty, SpaceX could launch another Dragon to fill that slot — the one Wilmore and Williams would ride in.
WHY DO THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR?
Like Boeing’s Starliner, SpaceX’s Dragon is intended to carry four astronauts. To make room for Wilmore and Williams, NASA said Wednesday it might move two of the four astronauts scheduled to launch to the space station next month on SpaceX. The empty seats would be reserved for Wilmore and Williams, but they would have to stay there until February. That’s because missions at the station are supposed to last at least six months. Some have lasted a year. Two Russians currently there will stay put for a year when they return in September in a three-seat Soyuz capsule with a NASA crew member. There’s no thought of ordering a special SpaceX Express, and the Dragon at the station is now the ride home for four residents next month.
This isn’t the first time an American astronaut has extended his stay. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates ended up spending just over a year in space after their docked Soyuz capsule was hit by space debris and leaked all of its coolant. An empty Russian capsule was sent up last September to retrieve them.
WHAT DO THE ASTRONAUTS THINK ABOUT IT?
Wilmore and Williams are both retired Navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts who have completed long space station missions. Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, said ahead of this test flight that they expected to learn a lot about Starliner and how it works. During their only press conference from space in July, they assured reporters that they were busy, helping with repairs and research, and expressed confidence in all the Starliner testing going on behind the scenes. There has been no public word from them yet about the prospects of an eight-month stay.
IS THERE ENOUGH FOOD, WATER AND AIR?
Wilmore and Williams’ suitcases were removed from the Starliner before launch to make room for equipment urgently needed for the space station’s urine-into-drinking-water recycling system. So they had to make do with spare clothes that were already there. A supply ship finally arrived this week with their clothes, along with extra food and science experiments for the entire nine-person crew. More supplies are expected in a few months. As for air, the space station has its own oxygen-generating systems. Despite the fat reserves, NASA wants to get back to normal as soon as possible. In addition to Wilmore and Williams, there are four other Americans and three Russians on board.
WHY IS NASA STAYING WITH STARLINER?
NASA deliberately hired two companies to ferry its crews to and from the space station, just as it did for cargo deliveries. The space agency viewed it as a kind of insurance policy: If one crew or cargo provider got grounded, the other could carry the load. “You want to have another alternative, both for cost reasons and for safety reasons and options. So NASA needs Boeing to be successful,” said Hubbard, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003.
Even with the latest setbacks, NASA maintains that it wants to keep using Boeing Starliners for astronaut flights. The goal is to send one Dragon and one Starliner with crews into space each year, six months apart, until the space station retires in 2030. SpaceX has been working on it since 2020.
WHAT DOES BOEING SAY?
Boeing insists the capsule can still safely bring the astronauts home. But the company said Wednesday it would take steps to return the capsule empty if that is NASA’s decision. Last week, the company released a list of all the tests it has performed on the boosters since launch.
“We continue to believe in Starliner’s capabilities and its flight logic,” the company said.
Boeing, a longtime aerospace contractor, has had to overcome multiple Starliner problems over the years. The company had to launch an empty Starliner twice before it could secure a crew, repeating the initial flight test due to faulty software and other issues. The delays have cost the company more than $1 billion.
Hubbard questions whether NASA and Boeing should have launched the crew with the original helium leak, which then vented into more helium.
“Whatever happens with the Starliner, they need to figure out what the problem was and fix it,” he said. “And give everyone confidence that they’re still in the aerospace business at a large scale.”
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