NASA, Boeing officials at odds over how to bring overdue astronauts back to Earth

Now over two months into a problem-plagued mission originally expected to last just over a week, NASA and Boeing officials appear to be of different minds as to the best next steps for bringing Boeing’s Starliner capsule and its two-person crew back to Earth.

At a Wednesday press conference notable for its lack of participation by any Boeing representatives, NASA engineers outlined work now under way to make room for astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that, under one scenario, would return the two veteran astronauts and test pilots next February.

While underscoring that no final decision has yet been made about how to get Williams and Wilmore back to Earth, details about contingency plans were shared just a day after the announcement that the SpaceX Crew 9 mission to the International Space Station, originally scheduled to launch Aug. 18, had been pushed back over a month to potentially reconfigure that flight to make room for passengers when it returns next winter. Those potential changes include trimming Crew 9′s original four-astronaut crew to just two to make room for the currently stranded Starliner crew to hitch a return ride.

The evolving plans shared by NASA on Wednesday, as well as concerns that the root causes of thruster failures and helium leaks that have beset Starliner’s first crewed mission have still not been determined, stood in contrast to a Friday press release from Boeing’s commercial space division that made a case for the spacecraft’s fitness for bringing its astronauts back safely.

What Boeing says about return flight

In the release, Boeing provided a lengthy and detailed list of the testing and analysis that has taken place since problems arose on Starliner’s mission that launched June 5 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and docked at the ISS the following day. Officials from the aerospace giant’s commercial crew program touted Starliner’s current readiness for a safe return but also yielded to NASA’s continued quest for better data on the issues.

“Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew,” the release read. “We continue to support NASA’s requests for additional testing, data, analysis and reviews to affirm the spacecraft’s safe undocking and landing capabilities.

“Our confidence is based on this abundance of valuable testing from Boeing and NASA. The testing has confirmed 27 of 28 RCS thrusters are healthy and back to full operational capability. Starliner’s propulsion system also maintains redundancy and the helium levels remain stable.”

During Wednesday’s press conference, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich shared some insights into the decision-making process that’s been underway since the U.S. space agency last provided an update on the Starliner mission two weeks ago.

Stich said that while returning Williams and Wilmore on Starliner remains the preferred scenario, some confidence in the capsule’s readiness for a safe flight back to Earth has been eroded by new information about the failure of a teflon seal that’s part of the thruster components, five of which failed to perform to expectations when the spacecraft was docking with the ISS back in June. Stich said there has been “healthy debate” and a difference of opinions in discussions about Starliner’s fitness for a crewed return flight.

“In the case that we have with the Starliner Crewed Flight Test, the option to either bring the crew home on the Starliner or bring the crew home on another vehicle, we could take either path and reasonable people could pick either path, depending on where their view is on our position on the uncertainty found in the data on the thruster system,” Stich said. “Moving forward, what we’re trying to do is reduce that uncertainty and see if we can drive some more consensus amongst our team. At the same time getting more serious about evaluating our other options.”

Gonna hitch a ride?

Thanks to the success of NASA’s other Commercial Crew Program contractee, SpaceX, there are various options to bring Williams and Wilmore back on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that, while normally configured for four astronauts, can be modified in an emergency to carry as many as seven crew members.

Stich said he expects a final plan to bring the Starliner astronauts home will be determined by mid-August and noted a deadline is fast approaching thanks to other departure and arrival traffic due at the ISS in the coming weeks.

While this Starliner mission was planned to have a two-person crew aboard for the flights to and from the ISS, the space capsule can operate in a full autonomous mode and software updates are underway to allow the spacecraft to undock and return to Earth on its own if the decision is made to accommodate the crew’s return on another vehicle.

Previous reports from NASA detailed that five of 28 maneuvering thrusters failed to perform as expected during Starliner’s docking at the space station on June 6. Engineers also identified five small helium leaks, some of which were detected before the spacecraft launched. Helium is used in the capsule’s thruster firing procedure. The issues have led to a series of delays for Starliner’s return flight.

NASA has previously noted that Starliner has been OK’d for use as an emergency return vehicle, should an unseen event at the space station lead to the need for an evacuation, and Stich confirmed Wednesday that status remained unchanged. There are currently six vehicles docked at the ISS including Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, the Northrop Grumman resupply ship, the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship, and the Progress 87 and 88 resupply ships. Two of them, the SpaceX Dragon and Russian Soyuz MS-25, are capable of carrying astronauts back to Earth in addition to Starliner.