NASA says astronauts stuck in space will not return on Boeing capsule, will wait for SpaceX craft

Date:

Share post:


NASA will call on SpaceX to bring home two astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station since early June after their Boeing spacecraft ran into several problems midflight, the agency said Saturday.

The decision for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to hitch a ride back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, rather than on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that they rode into orbit, puts to rest months of speculation and tension within the space agency over how — and when — the two crew members could safely return. The mission was planned to last about eight days.

“Spaceflight is risky — even at its safest and even at its most routine — and a test flight, by nature, is neither safe nor routine, and so the decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Saturday at a news briefing.

The Starliner drama has been a major setback for Boeing’s space ambitions, adding to years of struggle to get the capsule off the ground and keep up with rival company SpaceX. Even before Wilmore and Williams launched in June, the Starliner program was more than $1.5 billion over budget and years behind schedule.

Top NASA officials, including Nelson, gathered Saturday at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to conduct a formal review based on the results of tests done in orbit and on the ground.

While the agency has finally settled on how to bring the astronauts back, their return trip will not be immediate. Instead, Wilmore and Williams will remain at the space station for about six more months before flying home in February.

NASA said it will free up two seats on an upcoming SpaceX launch, known as Crew-9, that will be taking a new rotation of space station crew members to the orbiting outpost. By transporting two astronauts instead of the planned four, Wilmore and Williams will be able to fly back in the open seats at the end of the Crew-9 mission in February.

The Crew-9 flight is currently scheduled to lift off on Sept. 24 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The beleaguered Starliner capsule, meanwhile, will journey back to Earth without a crew, according to NASA.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft  (NASA via AP)Boeing's Starliner spacecraft  (NASA via AP)

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked to the International Space Station, on July 3, 2024.

Boeing said in a statement following the announcement: “We continue to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft. We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return.”

Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said that while Boeing officials expressed confidence in their spacecraft, the decision to go with SpaceX was unanimous among NASA officials.

“There was just too much uncertainty in the prediction of the thrusters,” Bowersox said. “If we had a model, [if] we had a way to accurately predict what the thrusters would do for the undock and all the way through the de-orbit burn, through the separation sequence, I think we would have taken a different course of action.”

NASA’s uncertainty in recent weeks stood in stark contrast to the public messaging from Boeing. The aerospace company has said that tests done in orbit and on the ground indicated that the Starliner capsule was safe to bring the astronauts home.

Over the past month, Boeing officials have not taken part in news briefings hosted by NASA to discuss the Starliner mission. Boeing was publishing details of the flight’s status on the company’s website, but there have been no mission updates posted since Aug. 2. In that statement from earlier this month, Boeing said it “remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew.”

Wilmore and Williams arrived at the space station on June 6. As they were approaching the orbiting outpost, five of Starliner’s thrusters malfunctioned, causing a nearly hourlong delay in the docking process. Separately, mission managers also detected helium leaking from the capsule’s propulsion system — an issue that was known prior to the spacecraft’s launch but appeared to worsen during the flight.

Engineers from NASA and Boeing spent weeks analyzing the problems using a test engine that was built for future Starliner flights. Mission managers also conducted two “hot fire tests” in space, which involved firing the capsule’s thrusters in short bursts while it remained docked at the space station.

Wilmore and Williams launched to the International Space Station on June 5 on the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. The mission, which was meant to last just over a week, was a crucial test flight for Boeing, serving as the last major step before NASA could certify the Starliner spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the space station on a regular basis.

It’s unclear how NASA will proceed with the certification process now, including how the space agency will evaluate Starliner’s performance on the crewed test flight.

SpaceX, meanwhile, has been ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station since 2020.

Both Boeing and SpaceX developed their space capsules as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, an initiative that started in 2011 to support private companies in building new space vehicles to take astronauts to low-Earth orbit following the retirement of the agency’s space shuttles.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com



Source link

Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

Recent posts

Related articles

Winter Weather Advisory issued for parts of area; Latest track, timing, impacts for snow

Snow showers are likely on Thursday for the snowflakes of the season.The National Weather Service has issued...

Russia says new US base in Poland raises overall nuclear danger

MOSCOW/WARSAW (Reuters) -Russia said on Thursday that a new U.S. ballistic missile defence base in northern Poland...

North Carolina GOP lawmakers vote to strip incoming Democratic leaders' powers

North Carolina Republican lawmakers voted to strip the state’s incoming Democratic governor and attorney general of key...

Twin Cities roads 'glare ice,' local sheriff advises limited travel

Snow coupled with temps dipping below freezing has led to very slippery road conditions in Minnesota, namely...

Missing Hawaii woman’s family alarmed over new info: ‘She’s not alone’

HONOLULU (KHON2) — It has been nine days since Hannah Kobayashi’s cell phone was last located at...

Bees help tackle elephant-human conflict in Kenya

"We used to hate elephants a lot," Kenyan farmer Charity Mwangome says, pausing from her work under...

The FBI arrested a man who's been charged with planning an attack on the New York Stock Exchange

A Florida man was arrested Wednesday and charged with a plot to “reboot” the U.S. government by...

Texas anesthesiologist sentenced to 190 years in federal prison for tampering with IV bags

A Dallas anesthesiologist was sentenced to 190 years in federal prison for injecting drugs into IV bags,...