Two NASA astronauts currently working on the International Space Station (ISS), Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, are likely to return to Earth aboard a SpaceX vessel.
Instead of the planned one week, the first crew of Boeing’s spacecraft has been at the ISS for nearly two months with no clear return date due to propulsion issues and helium leaks on Boeing’s Starliner, which transported them to the station in early June, Business Insider reported on July 28.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. (Photo: NASA/Robert Markowitz).
“We have two different systems for flying,” said Steve Stich, director of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), during a press conference on July 25. These two systems are Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.
“Clearly, the backup option is to use another system. I don’t want to get into every detail until we reach that point, if there is such a point,” Stich added.
CCP has funded SpaceX and Boeing to develop their spacecraft into vehicles for transporting astronauts for NASA. SpaceX has achieved this faster and at a lower cost. Crew Dragon completed its first crewed flight in 2020, while Starliner is still struggling with this mission.
Boeing’s Starliner approaching the International Space Station (ISS) for docking in early June. (Photo: NASA TV).
Initially, Williams and Wilmore were expected to work on the ISS for about eight days as this was merely a test mission. NASA estimated the maximum stay would be 45 days based on Starliner’s battery performance in space.
However, to date, the astronaut duo and their spacecraft have been at the ISS for over 50 days with no confirmed return date. Currently, NASA states that the astronauts could remain until mid-August while Boeing continues to troubleshoot. The agency has also extended the battery life from 45 days to 90 days.
“We do not have any significant announcements related to the return date yet. We are making good progress, but we are not ready to do that,” Stich stated in the press conference.
NASA is testing a backup Starliner propulsion system at the White Sands Test Facility and has not yet completed it. The engineering team has replicated the engine issues encountered by Williams and Wilmore’s spacecraft on their way to the ISS. The next step is to recreate the return journey to see if Starliner’s propulsion system can safely bring the astronauts home.
Stich indicated that NASA always has contingency plans and they are genuinely focused on bringing Williams and Wilmore home aboard Starliner. Both NASA and Boeing have repeatedly confirmed that the two astronauts are safe.
“One day, Starliner could serve as a backup for the Dragon spacecraft,” Stich remarked.
