Boeing Starliner astronauts could return aboard a SpaceX capsule in February 2025, NASA says
WASHINGTON: Two astronauts delivered to the International Space Station in June on a Boeing Starliner could return on SpaceX's Crew Dragon in February 2025 if the Starliner is still deemed unsafe to return to Earth, NASA officials said Wednesday.
The US space agency is discussing with SpaceX potential plans to leave two seats empty on the upcoming Crew Dragon launch for NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams, who became the first crew to fly aboard a Boeing Starliner capsule.
The astronauts' test mission, originally expected to last about eight days on the station, was delayed by problems with the Starliner's propulsion system, which increasingly called into question the spacecraft's ability to return them safely to Earth as planned.
A Boeing spokesman said that if NASA decides to change the Starliner mission, the company “will take the necessary steps to configure the Starliner to return without a crew.”
Engine malfunctions during Starliner's initial landing on the ISS in June and several leaks of the helium used to pressurize those engines prompted Boeing to launch a test campaign to understand the cause and propose fixes to NASA, which has the final say. Recent results have revealed new information that has raised more anxiety about a safe return.
The data from the latest tests has caused controversy and debate within NASA over whether to take the risk of returning the Starliner to Earth or call for Crew Dragon instead.
Using SpaceX's craft to return astronauts that Boeing planned to return to the Starliner would be a major blow to the aerospace giant, which has struggled for years to compete with SpaceX and its more experienced Crew Dragon.
The Starliner has been docked with the ISS 63 for the maximum 90 days it can stay, and it is parked in the same port that Crew Dragon will use to deliver the future crew of astronauts.
Early Tuesday morning, NASA delivered a routine shipment of food and supplies, including extra clothing for Wilmore and Williams, to the station using a SpaceX rocket and a Northrop Grumman capsule.
The high-stakes Starliner mission is the final test needed before NASA can certify the spacecraft for routine astronaut flights to and from the ISS. Crew Dragon has been cleared by NASA to fly astronauts in 2020.
Development of the Starliner was stalled by control problems and numerous engineering problems. That has cost Boeing $1.6 billion since 2016, including $125 million from the current Starliner test mission, securities filings show.
NASA'S CONCERN
A meeting this week of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which oversees Starliner, ended with some officials disagreeing with a plan to accept Boeing's test data and use Starliner to return astronauts home, officials said during a news conference.
“We didn't conduct the survey in such a way as to draw a conclusion,” said Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich.
“We heard from many people who were concerned and the solution was unclear,” added Ken Bowersax, NASA's space operations manager.
The Boeing executive was not at the press conference on Wednesday.
Although the decision on whether to use Starliner or Crew Dragon has not yet been made, NASA is buying Boeing more time to conduct additional tests and collect more data to build a better case for trusting Starliner. NASA plans to make a decision sometime next week, officials said.
The agency on Tuesday delayed by more than a month the upcoming SpaceX Crew Dragon mission, a routine flight called Crew-9 that would have sent three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the ISS.
NASA's ISS program manager said the agency has not yet decided which astronauts it will pull from the mission for Wilmore and Williams, if needed.
Boeing's tests so far have shown that four Starliner jets failed in June after they overheated and automatically shut down, while other engines restarted during the test appeared weaker than normal due to some restrictions on their fuel.
Ground tests in late July at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico helped reveal that overheating thrusters caused a Teflon seal to deform, choking the thrust tubes for the thrusters and thereby weakening their thrust.
“It has, I would say, increased the level of discomfort and lack of full understanding of the physics of what's going on,” Stich said, describing why NASA now seems more willing to discuss Crew Dragon contingencies after previously downplaying the prospect reporters.
