NASA officials announced on Wednesday that if Boeing’s Starliner capsule remains unsafe, astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) could return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule as early as February 2025. This scenario would involve leaving two seats on an upcoming Crew Dragon flight open for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who were the first crew members to fly aboard Boeing’s Starliner.
The return of these astronauts, initially expected to be an eight-day mission on the ISS, has been extended due to persistent issues with Starliner’s propulsion system. These problems have cast doubt on the spacecraft’s ability to safely bring the astronauts back to Earth. The latest data from tests have heightened concerns, prompting ongoing discussions within NASA about the potential risks of a Starliner return versus the option of using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
A Boeing spokesperson stated that if NASA decides to alter the Starliner mission plan, the company will take necessary actions to configure the spacecraft for an uncrewed return. This follows several technical difficulties, including thruster failures and helium leaks that occurred during Starliner’s initial approach to the ISS in June. These issues have led Boeing to launch a comprehensive testing campaign to diagnose and address the problems, which has revealed new and worrying data about the spacecraft’s performance.
The debate within NASA centers on whether to accept the risks associated with Starliner or to opt for a more reliable alternative. Using SpaceX’s Crew Dragon for the return would be a significant setback for Boeing, which has struggled to match the success of SpaceX and its Crew Dragon. The Crew Dragon has been operational since receiving NASA approval for astronaut flights in 2020, whereas Starliner’s development has faced numerous delays and challenges.
Starliner has been docked at the ISS for 63 of the maximum 90 days allowed. It is currently occupying the same docking port that Crew Dragon will need to use for delivering a new astronaut crew. Recently, NASA delivered a routine shipment of supplies to the ISS using a SpaceX rocket and Northrop Grumman capsule, including additional clothing for Wilmore and Williams.
Starliner’s mission is a critical final test required before NASA can certify the spacecraft for regular crewed flights to and from the ISS. The development of Starliner has been hampered by management issues and engineering problems, costing Boeing approximately $1.6 billion since 2016, including $125 million attributed to the current test mission.
During a recent meeting of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which oversees Starliner, some officials expressed reservations about relying on Boeing’s testing data to approve the spacecraft for astronaut return. “We didn’t poll in a way that led to a conclusion,” said Steve Stich, the head of the Commercial Crew Program. Ken Bowersox, NASA’s space operations chief, added that there were significant concerns and no clear decision had emerged.
While a final decision has not yet been made regarding whether to use Starliner or Crew Dragon for the astronauts’ return, NASA is giving Boeing additional time to conduct further testing and provide more data. A decision is expected by next week. Additionally, NASA has delayed SpaceX’s upcoming Crew Dragon mission, known as Crew-9, which is scheduled to send three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the ISS.
Ground tests conducted in late July at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico revealed that overheating caused a Teflon seal in the thrusters to warp, restricting the propellant flow and weakening the thrusters’ performance. This has increased NASA’s discomfort with Starliner and opened discussions about the potential need for a Crew Dragon contingency plan.
