A recent update from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) indicates that the space agency is “evaluating all options” to bring about the safe return of the astronauts who are currently stuck on the ISS following the failure of a Boeing Starliner. The crew has been stuck in orbit for approximately eight weeks.
Reports also indicate that the private sector may be stepping in to assist the government agency. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly devising a plan with NASA to fly the crew back to Earth amid serious concerns that the Starliner is not fit to safely transport the astronauts.
NASA spokesperson Josh Finch told Ars Technica when asked about whether the astronauts would return on a Starliner or the Dragon spacecraft, “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.”
The Starliner has reportedly faced issues with helium leaks and failing thrusters. However, officials have downplayed these challenges, suggesting they are minor flaws. “Those are pretty small, really, issues to deal with,” Mark Nappi, vice president and manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program claimed. “We’ll figure them out for the next mission. I don’t see these as significant at all.”
“Our prime option is to complete the mission,” NASA’s program manager for commercial crew, Steve Stich, said last week. “There are a lot of good reasons to complete this mission and bring Butch and Suni home on Starliner.” The program manager further added, “Starliner was designed, as a spacecraft, to have the crew in the cockpit.”
Amid the Starliner’s failures, reports indicate that NASA is scrambling to control the narrative on the technical issues. In previous comments, Stich emphasized that the astronauts are not technically “stranded” in space. “The vehicle is in good shape. I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,” he said.
Jerry Stone, senior associate of the Space Studies Institute and author of One Small Step said, “It’s defined as a test mission, it’s called a crewed test flight, and one of things is to deal with unplanned issues.” He added, “But the thing to do in a situation like this is not to, I won’t say hide anything because they’re not doing that, but to be much more open, especially with the media, because the media is going to make this out to be as dramatic as possible.”
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Stone further added, “The expected reaction, particularly from the public, is something has gone wrong and they can’t get back. And yes, something has gone wrong. But the statement that they can’t get back is most definitely incorrect.”
Mike Massimino, a retired Nasa astronaut offered his insight into the predicament. “From my perspective as an astronaut engineer, it’s been a successful test flight. You want to wring it out and see what’s going on. There’s no reason to bring the crew back early if they have the supplies, which they do, and the spacecraft is stable. I think this is a good thing, a chance to really work out the kinks,” he said.
The former astronaut continued, “[But] because they said it’s going to be between this many days, and this many days, people try to put one and one together. It’s like, all right, so this thing’s longer now, and they have problems, so they’re staying longer because they have problems. And that’s not the case.”
Featured image credit: NASA TV, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starliner_approaches_the_ISS.jpg