Cape Canaveral: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on Wednesday it was deciding whether to keep two astronauts – Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams – on the International Space Station until early next year and send their troubled Boeing capsule home empty.
Instead of returning to Earth on Boeing’s Starliner, the two astronauts would travel on SpaceX’s next flight. That option would keep them on the space station until next February.
Test pilots had expected to be gone just a week or more when they blasted off as the first Starliner crew, but thruster failures and helium leaks marred the capsule’s trip to the space station, raising questions about its ability to return safely and leaving the astronauts in limbo.
NASA officials said they are analyzing more data before making a decision late next week or early next week. These thrusters are crucial to keeping the capsule in the right position when it comes time to descend from orbit.
“We have time available before we bring Starliner home and we want to use it wisely,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s space operations mission manager.
The move to SpaceX would require moving two of the four astronauts assigned to the next shuttle flight, currently scheduled for late September. Wilmore and Williams would fill the empty seats on SpaceX’s Dragon capsule once that half-year mission ends.
Another complication: The space station only has two parking spaces for American capsules. Boeing’s capsule would have to leave before the arrival of SpaceX’s Dragon to free up a space.
Boeing has said Starliner could still bring astronauts home safely. Earlier this month, the company published a list of tests it has performed on the boosters since liftoff.
NASA would like to keep SpaceX’s current crew there until replacements arrive, barring an emergency. Those four were due to return to Earth this month, but saw a seventh month added to their mission because of uncertainty about Starliner, keeping them there until late September. Most space station stays last six months, though some have lasted a full year.
Wilmore and Williams are retired Navy captains who spent months aboard the space station years ago.
“They’ll do what we ask them to do. That’s their job as astronauts,” said NAA Chief Astronaut Joe Acaba.
Eager for competitive services and backup options, NASA contracted with SpaceX and Boeing to ferry astronauts to and from the space station after the shuttles were retired in 2011.
SpaceX’s first flight with astronauts was in 2020. Boeing had so many problems on its initial uncrewed test flight in 2019 that it was ordered to do it again. More problems then arose that cost the company more than $1 billion to fix before it was finally able to fly with astronauts.
(with AP inputs)
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