Two NASA astronauts headed to an eight-day mission to the ISS could be orbiting until 2025, as Boeing’s ongoing problems with its Starliner capsule make for an indeterminate wait, NASA officials said on Wednesday.
If Starliner remains unfit for a safe journey home, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may fly home in February 2025 on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as the historic first crew flying Boeing’s Starliner. NASA has been talking to SpaceX about leaving two seats open on the next Crew Dragon launch, already delayed a month, as efforts continue to find an end to Starliner propulsion system problems.
These technical issues have prolonged the mission of the astronauts, which started on June 5 and was only supposed to last for about eight days. Issues that Boeing has been able to identify within Starliner include malfunctioning thrusters and helium leaks, raising concerns over the capability of the spacecraft to return safely to Earth.
A Boeing representative said the company is prepared to outfit the capsule for an uncrewed return from the space station if NASA decides to change the mission plan. That would be a huge disappointment for Boeing, which has been trying to catch up to SpaceX and its more experienced Crew Dragon.
The Starliner has been docked with the ISS for 63 of its available 90 days. It occupies the same port that will be needed for the new Crew Dragon mission. The SpaceX Crew-9 launch was supposed to be launched in mid-August but will likely happen after September 24.
Despite rigorous ground tests, Boeing engineers already discovered overheating issues and automatic shutdowns of four jets this past June. The other thrusters performed with less efficiency as well due to propellant constraints. On August 2, Boeing issued a statement saying it “remains confident that the Starliner will be able to return with crew.”.
Recent reports hint at a rift between leaders at NASA and Boeing about the spacecraft’s readiness. One meeting of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program-the governing body tasked with overseeing Starliner-wrapped up with no consensus on whether to take Boeing’s testing data to date and allow the use of the Starliner to take the astronauts home.
Steve Stich, chief of the Commercial Crew Program said, “We didn’t poll in a way that led to a conclusion.” Added NASA’s space operations chief, Ken Bowersox, “We heard from a lot of folks that had concerns, and the decision was not clear.”
According to space experts, this is not unusual to have problems with an experimental spaceflight. Jerry Stone, senior associate of the Space Studies Institute has commented that dealing with unforeseen issues is essentially part of test missions.
Of course, Boeing has a lot riding on the mission since it’s been fighting a PR battle regarding its planes for the last couple of years. Mark Nappi, Boeing’s commercial crew program manager, said he regretted the company’s initial estimate of an eight-day mission, recognizing that the mission will ultimately need to stay up until all mission objectives are completed.
While NASA and Boeing work to rectify the problems with Starliner, the extended stay on ISS underlines both the challenges and intricacies involved in space travel.