According to recent reports, NASA will rely on Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, to fly home the two astronauts who have been stranded in space since the beginning of June. The astronauts became stuck on the International Space Station when their Boeing Starliner Aircraft experienced several malfunctions. In a devastating blow to Boeing and NASA, they will have to turn to SpaceX’s innovation.
After weeks of debate toward the best option to safely return the astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will return to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon craft instead of the embattled Boeing Starliner. The move further jeopardizes Boeing’s reputation, as the company has endured other notable controversies over the past year.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a recent press briefing, “Spaceflight is risky — even at its safest and even at its most routine — and a test flight, by nature, is neither safe nor routine, and so the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety.”
As the debate raged over which craft to bring the astronauts home on, some NASA engineers noted that the fact that the Starliner is even being questioned should automatically rule it out. During a press conference on the matter, NASA’s Ken Bowersox said, “We could take either path, and reasonable people could pick either path.”
NASA’s program manager for commercial crew, Steve Stich, recently said, “In the last few weeks, we have decided to make sure we have that capability there, as our community, I would say, got more and more uncomfortable.” At the time, Stich explained that a conclusion had not yet been reached regarding what craft they would fly Wilmore and Williams home on. “We didn’t poll in a way that led to a conclusion,” he said. “We heard from a lot of folks that had concerns, and the decision was not clear,” Bowersox said.
According to Stich, there is substantial uncertainty about the viability of the Starliner. “That, I would say, upped the level of discomfort, and not having a total understanding of the physics of what’s happening,” Stich said, explaining why NASA seemed more open to considering the option of using the SpaceX craft instead of Boeing.
NASA spokesperson Josh Finch told Ars Technica further detailed the internal debate at the space agency. “NASA is evaluating all options for the return of agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station as safely as possible. No decisions have been made and the agency will continue to provide updates on its planning,” he said.
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Despite the palpable concern about the Starliner, some downplayed the technical complications. “Those are pretty small, really, issues to deal with,” Mark Nappi, vice president and manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, said. “We’ll figure them out for the next mission. I don’t see these as significant at all.” Stich further stated,“Our prime option is to complete the mission. There are a lot of good reasons to complete this mission and bring Butch and Suni home on Starliner.” The program manager added, “Starliner was designed, as a spacecraft, to have the crew in the cockpit.”