Boeing Starliner astronauts could return to SpaceX capsule in February 2025, NASA says
WASHINGTON: NASA officials said Wednesday that the two astronauts delivered to the International Space Station in June by Boeing's Starliner could return on SpaceX's Crew Dragon in February 2025 if the Starliner is still deemed unsafe to return to Earth.
The US space agency has discussed with SpaceX potential plans to leave two seats open on an upcoming Crew Dragon launch for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who became the first crew to fly the Boeing Starliner capsule.
The astronauts' test mission, originally expected to last about eight days on the station, was ended by problems with the Starliner's propulsion system, which called into question the spacecraft's ability to return them safely to Earth as it was planned.
A Boeing spokesman said that if NASA decides to change the Starliner mission, the company “will take the necessary actions to configure Starliner for an unmanned return.”
Thruster failures during Starliner's initial approach to the ISS in June and multiple leaks of helium — used to pressurize those thrusters — set Boeing on a testing campaign to understand the cause and propose fixes to NASA, which has the final say. Recent results have revealed new information, causing greater alarm about a safe return.
The latest test data has sparked disagreement and debate within NASA over whether to accept the risk of returning a Starliner to Earth or call for Crew Dragon instead.
Using a SpaceX ship to return astronauts that Boeing had planned to bring back on the Starliner would be a major blow to an aerospace giant that has struggled for years to compete with SpaceX and its more experienced Crew Dragon.
The Starliner has been docked with the ISS for 63 of its maximum 90 days, and is parked in the same port that Crew Dragon will have to use to deliver the crew of future astronauts.
Early Tuesday morning, NASA, using a SpaceX rocket and a Northrop Grumman capsule, delivered a routine shipment of food and supplies to the station, including extra clothes for Wilmore and Williams.
Starliner's high-stakes mission is a final test needed before NASA can certify the spacecraft for routine astronaut flights to and from the ISS. Crew Dragon has received NASA approval for flights with astronauts in 2020.
Development of the Starliner was delayed by management problems and numerous engineering problems. It has cost Boeing $1.6 billion since 2016, including $125 million from the current Starliner test mission, securities filings show.
CONCERNS AT NASA
A meeting this week of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which oversees Starliner, ended with some officials disagreeing with the plan to accept Boeing's test data and use Starliner to bring astronauts home. officials said during a press conference.
“We haven't done surveys in a way that leads to a conclusion,” said Steve Stich, head of the Commercial Crew Program.
“We heard from a lot of people who had concerns, and the decision was not clear,” added Ken Bowersox, head of NASA's space operations.
A Boeing executive was not at Wednesday's news conference.
While no decision has been made on whether to use the Starliner or Crew Dragon, NASA has given Boeing more time to do more testing and gather more data to build a better case for trusting the Starliner. Sometime next week, NASA expects to decide, officials said.
The agency on Tuesday delayed by more than a month SpaceX's upcoming Crew Dragon mission, a routine flight called Crew-9 that is supposed to send three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the ISS.
NASA's ISS program chief said the agency has not yet decided which astronauts will carry out the mission for Wilmore and Williams if needed.
Boeing's tests so far have shown that four of the Starliner jets failed in June because they overheated and automatically shut down, while other thrusters restarted during the tests appeared weaker than normal due to some restrictions on their propellant.
Ground tests in late July at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico helped reveal that overheating thrusters causes a Teflon gasket to deform, choking the thrust tubes for the thrusters and thereby weakening their thrust.
“That, I would say, has increased the level of discomfort and not having a full understanding of the physics of what's going on,” Stich said, describing why NASA now seems more willing to discuss a Crew Dragon eventuality after having previously downplayed such a prospect for reporters.
