NASA is working with Elon Musk’s SpaceX on plans to return two astronauts to Earth in case they’re unable to travel on the damaged Boeing Co. spacecraft that originally took them into space.
NASA officials announced the emergency plan on Wednesday and said astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams could return to Earth in February 2025 with a two-person crew on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in September.
The agency said it must make a final decision by mid-August on whether the astronauts will return home on the Boeing spacecraft. The decision could ultimately be made by NASA’s deputy administrator Jim Free or Bill Nelson, the agency’s top official.
Wilmore and Williams have lived on the International Space Station since June 6, after Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft made its first manned flight.
The mission is a critical test to find out whether the vehicle is protected enough to recurrently transport astronauts into orbit and back again. The two astronauts were originally scheduled to remain on the station for about per week, but have now been in orbit for 2 months.
If NASA were to go the SpaceX route, the Starliner would return home empty before the Crew-9 launch.
“Our chances of an unmanned return of the Starliner have increased somewhat because of developments over the last week or two,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s deputy director of space operations, during a press conference. “So we are looking more closely at that option to make sure we can handle it.”
Boeing’s Starliner encountered quite a lot of technical problems while docking with the space station, including helium leaks and a few engines failing and having to be restarted. NASA is trying to find out whether Starliner is protected enough to bring Wilmore and Williams home despite the engine problems.
“We continue to believe in the capabilities and flightworthiness of Starliner,” Boeing said in a press release after the NASA press conference. “If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the necessary steps to configure Starliner for an unmanned return.”
If SpaceX is asked to return Wilmore and Williams, it might be one other embarrassing blow to the Starliner program, which has been affected by technical problems for much of its development. It would also underscore the federal government’s dependence on Musk’s company, which has established itself as an important partner within the U.S. space program.
Before the launch of this test flight, Boeing’s Starliner had suffered a botched unmanned test flight in 2019, in addition to significant delays and technical issues that had delayed the present flight by seven years. Last week, Boeing announced $125 million in additional costs for Starliner, bringing cost overruns since 2016 to $1.6 billion.
While the Starliner was docked to the space station, NASA and Boeing conducted tests and evaluation to higher understand the explanation for the engine failure.
The Agency announced the outcomes from ground tests at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in late July that suggested the engine failures might need been on account of overheating of Teflon seals.
However, NASA is anxious because “we cannot prove with absolute certainty that what we see in orbit is exactly what was reproduced on Earth,” said Steve StichProgram Manager for the agency’s Commercial Crew program.
NASA officials said that given the uncertainties, there are differing opinions inside NASA about whether Starliner can return home safely, resulting in increased give attention to SpaceX’s contingency plan. One of the most important concerns is that there could possibly be a mix of helium leaks and engine failures as Starliner attempts to deorbit, which could lead on to some lack of control of the vehicle.
“I think reasonable people can have different views on which path we should take,” Bowersox said.
In the approaching days, NASA and Boeing officials will collect more data, update software and develop plans to implement various options for returning Wilmore and Williams.
Propulsion experts from NASA’s various centers are helping the Starliner teams undergo the information to see if anything was missed. Once all the information is compiled, the agency will conduct a proper review and make a advice.
