Will SpaceX retrieve astronauts stranded by Boeing?

FPI / August 9, 2024

The U.S. astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station in June via Boeing's Starliner spacecraft may end up hitching a ride home with Elon Musk's SpaceX amid concerns over whether the Boeing craft can safely return the astronauts to Earth.

Although Boeing has vouched for Starliner, NASA officials on Wednesday said they are working on backup plans that depend on SpaceX.

"The possibility that NASA would call on Musk’s space company to close out a mission Boeing has been working on for years increased in recent weeks," the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The incident, which could extend the planned mission from 8 days to 8 months is the latest humiliating setback for the once legendary American multinational aerospace company that became notorious for prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards above quality control.

Under consideration by NASA managers is the possibility of having SpaceX launch one of its crew vehicles to the International Space Station in September with two open seats for astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who flew to the ISS in June on what was billed as an 8-day mission. If Wilmore and Williams do return with SpaceX, they would may remain on the station until SpaceX’s vehicle departs early next year, NASA said.

“We don’t just have to bring a crew back on Starliner,” Ken Bowersox, a top space operations administrator at NASA, said at a briefing.

Bowersox, a former astronaut, said Starliner’s chances of returning without the astronauts had increased over the past couple of weeks. Results from some recent tests raised concerns at NASA, officials said.

NASA is looking to make a call about next steps by the middle of this month, and no final decisions about whether to go with Boeing or SpaceX have been made.

Starliner is among the problems being inherited by incoming Boeing chief executive Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, who started his new job on Thursday.

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"Should NASA provide a final certification to Starliner, which Boeing is trying to secure with the current flight, the company is under contract to conduct another half-dozen flights with the vehicle," the Journal's report noted. "NASA turning to SpaceX to complete the mission would be a tough outcome for Boeing, which has deep ties to NASA that date to the Apollo moon landings."

Boeing is in the middle of a safety crisis related to its 737 Max jets, which was ignited after a door panel blew out aboard an Alaska Airlines flight.

In an April report, Daily Mail online cited a Boeing insider as saying the aviation giant is failing because profit-hungry executives are all working from home and the manufacturer has become too fixated on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

The anonymous source described Boeing as a "company under caretakers" who have lost touch with its workforce.

Boeing said Wednesday that it still believed in Starliner: “If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return.”

Wilmore and Williams have been aboard the space station since June 6, when they became the first astronauts to fly in Boeing’s Starliner vehicle. The temporary failure of several thrusters and discovery of helium leaks in the ship’s propulsion system turned the planned week-long visit to the ISS into an extended stay.

Tensions between Boeing and some NASA leaders surfaced last week when officials couldn’t agree on using Starliner, and a detailed review of Starliner’s readiness for the flight back was postponed, according to people familiar with the situation.

“The real disagreements are how much uncertainty they view in the data” and potential risks tied to Starliner, Steve Stich, a NASA manager, said at the briefing.

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