CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – NASA is debating how and when to bring two astronauts home from the International Space Station after repeatedly postponing their homecoming aboard Boeing’s problematic capsule.

Do they take a gamble and send them home soon aboard Boeing’s Starliner? Or should they wait and return next year with SpaceX?

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been up there since early June, with their intended eight-day mission already two months in and potentially longer.

Testing continues, with Boeing claiming confidence in their spacecraft and NASA divided. The ruling is due next week.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE BOEING STARLINER?
This is Boeing’s first experience launching people, following a pair of empty Starliners with software and other concerns. Even before Wilmore and Williams blasted off on June 5, their capsule developed a leak in the propulsion system. Boeing and NASA determined that the little helium leak was stable and isolated and proceeded with the test flight. However, as the Starliner approached the space station the following day, four more leaks occurred, and five thrusters also failed.

The capsule docked safely, and four of the thrusters eventually worked. Engineers hurried to conduct thruster test firings on the ground and in space. After two months, there is still no clear cause for the thruster faults. All but one of the 28 thrusters appear to be in working order, but the crew’s safety may be jeopardized if too many fail to function again. At the end of the trip, the thrusters are needed to hold the capsule in the proper position for the vital deorbit burn.

Could 2 NASA Astronauts Be Stuck At The Space Station Until Next Year? Here’s What To Know

ARE THE TWO ASTRONAUTS STRANDED?
NASA rejects claims that Wilmore and Williams are stranded or stuck. From the start, NASA has highlighted that if there is an emergency aboard the space station, such as a fire or decompression, the couple can still use Starliner as a lifeboat to escape. A former NASA leader said Thursday that the astronauts are “kind of stuck,” but not stranded. Scott Hubbard confirmed that they are secure aboard the space station, with plenty of supplies and jobs to do.

If NASA proceeded with a SpaceX return, Starliner would be released first, freeing up one of two parking slots for US capsules. Before that, Wilmore and Williams would create seats for themselves in the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which is now docked at the space station. This is because each station tenant requires a lifeboat at all times. Once the docking port on the Starliner is vacant, SpaceX might launch another Dragon to fill it — the one Wilmore and Williams would ride.

WHY MAY THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR?

SpaceX’s Dragon, like Boeing’s Starliner, is designed to carry four people. To make place for Wilmore and Williams, NASA announced Wednesday that it may push two of the four astronauts scheduled to sail to the space station with SpaceX next month. The empty seats would be designated for Wilmore and Williams, but they would have to stay until February.

This is because station missions are designed to last at least six months. Some have lasted for a year. Two Russians are now in space and will return in September in a three-seat Soyuz capsule with a NASA crewmate to complete a yearlong mission. There is no thought of ordering a special SpaceX Express, and the Dragon at the station will now transport four inhabitants home next month.

This isn’t the first time a US astronaut has had their mission extended. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates spent a little over a year in space after their parked Soyuz capsule was damaged by space debris and leaked all of its coolant. Last September, an empty Russian capsule was launched to bring them back.

What are the astronauts’ thoughts on all of this?

Wilmore and Williams are retired Navy captains and NASA astronauts with extensive space station experience. Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, stated before the test flight that they planned to learn much about the Starliner and its operation.

At their only news conference from space in July, they told reporters that they were keeping busy with repairs and research and that they were confident in all of the Starliner testing that was taking place behind the scenes. There has yet to be any public announcement from them regarding the possibility of an eight-month stay.

Is there enough food, water, and air?
Wilmore and Williams’ luggage was removed from Starliner before liftoff to make place for equipment required for the space station’s urine-to-drinking-water recycling system. So they made do with the clothes they already had up there. A supply ship arrived this week, bringing their clothes and more food and science experiments for the full nine-person crew.

More supplies are expected in a few months. Regarding air, the space station has its own oxygen-generating devices. Despite the fat stores, NASA wants to return to normal quickly. Aside from Wilmore and Williams, four other Americans and three Russians are on board.

WHY DOES NASA STICK WITH STARLINER?
NASA hired two businesses to transport its people to and from the space station, just as it did to carry goods. The space agency viewed it as an insurance policy: if one crew or cargo provider was grounded, the other could carry the burden. ‘You want another option, both in terms of cost and safety. So NASA needs Boeing to succeed,” said Hubbard, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003.

Despite the new difficulties, NASA insists on continuing to use Boeing Starliners for astronaut rides. The plan is to send up one Dragon and one Starliner per year with crews six months apart until the station is abandoned in 2030. SpaceX has been doing this since 2020.

WHAT IS BOEING SAYING?

Could 2 NASA Astronauts Be Stuck At The Space Station Until Next Year? Here’s What To Know

Boeing claims that its capsule can still safely transport the astronauts home. However, the corporation stated on Wednesday that it would take the required preparations to return the capsule empty if NASA so directed. Last Monday, the corporation issued a list of all the thruster experiments performed since launch.

“We still believe in Starliner’s capability and flight rationale.” the firm stated.

Boeing, a long-time space contractor, has had to deal with numerous Starliner issues over the years. The business had to launch an empty Starliner twice before committing to a crew, repeating the original flight test due to software errors and other challenges. The delays have cost the corporation over $1 billion.

Hubbard asks whether NASA and Boeing should have launched the crew with the original helium leak, which led to more.

“Whatever happens with the Starliner, they need to find out what the problem was and fix it,” he explained. “And give everybody confidence they are still in the aerospace business in a major way.”

SOURCE | AP