It’s been nearly two months since Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) for its first crewed test flight. Despite several technical mishaps that have delayed Starliner’s return to Earth, NASA has continuously insisted that the vehicle is capable of carrying the crew back. Recent reports, however, suggest the space agency is looking at alternatives to bring two astronauts home safely.
NASA officials are considering delaying the launch of SpaceX’s Crew 9 mission from August 18 to September 24, and putting two astronauts instead of four on board the Crew Dragon, to allow for the Starliner crew to hop on a different vehicle for their journey back to Earth, anonymous sources told Ars Technica. The move would signal the failure of Starliner’s first voyage to the ISS with astronauts on board and would confirm that, despite NASA’s attempts to downplay the spacecraft’s glitches, it was not fit to carry a crew back to Earth.
The Starliner CST-100 spacecraft launched atop a United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket on June 5, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams. During its approach to the ISS, five of the spacecraft’s thrusters failed, and the spacecraft developed five helium leaks, one of which was identified prior to liftoff. The mission was originally supposed to last eight days, but Starliner’s return to Earth was delayed indefinitely while teams carried out a series of tests to collect more data on the troublesome vehicle.
Despite Starliner’s lengthy stay docked to the ISS, NASA and Boeing have repeatedly claimed that the vehicle is capable of returning the crew at any moment and that the additional time in orbit is an opportunity to conduct tests that would otherwise be impossible to do with the spacecraft on the ground. The space agency and its commercial partner may soon have to eat their words, with reports suggesting that astronauts Wilmore and Williams will ride home on board SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft instead.
NASA officials said during a press briefing on July 10 that Starliner would need to undock from the ISS before the scheduled launch of the Crew 9 mission in August. “The prime option today is to return Butch and Sunny on Starliner,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, told reporters during the July briefing. “Right now, we don’t see any reason that that wouldn’t be the case.”
At the time, NASA was hoping to return its Starliner crew by the end of July. That deadline has passed, and now NASA is reportedly considering pushing back its Crew 9 launch.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew 9 mission includes three NASA astronauts and one Roscosmos cosmonaut, who are scheduled for a six-month stay on board the ISS. However, sources reportedly told Ars Technica that there was a greater than a 50-50 chance astronauts Wilmore and Williams would need to fly back on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft due to ongoing discussions regarding the viability of the Starliner spacecraft. As of late last week, there was still no consensus among those responsible for making the decision, with the main concern being that they have yet to identify the root cause of the thruster failure, an anonymous source told CNBC.
Sending back an empty Starliner would be a major blow to NASA and its commercial partner Boeing, further reducing confidence in a vehicle marred by delays and failures. SpaceX has so far launched eight crews to the ISS and is getting ready to launch its ninth crew of astronauts, pending a final decision regarding Starliner’s ability to return a crew safely to Earth.
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