Astronauts forced to stay longer on space station as NASA considers Starliner safety after multiple failures

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — NASA is considering how and when to repatriate two astronauts from the International Space Station after their return aboard a damaged Boeing capsule was repeatedly delayed.

Will they take a chance and send them home soon on Boeing’s Starliner? Or will they wait and bring them back next year with SpaceX?

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been there since early June, and their planned eight-day mission is approaching two months and could potentially last longer.

Tests continue, Boeing expresses confidence in its spacecraft, but NASA is divided. A decision is due next week.

What’s wrong with Boeing’s Starliner?
This is Boeing’s first time sending astronauts out, after flying a pair of empty Starliners that were plagued by software and other issues. Before Wilmore and Williams’ launch on June 5, their capsule developed a leak in its propulsion system. Boeing and NASA deemed the small helium leak stable and isolated, and continued the test flight. But as Starliner approached the space station the next day, four more leaks erupted. Five engines also failed.

The capsule docked safely, and four engines eventually fired up. But engineers rushed through tests of the engines on the ground and in space. Two months later, there is still no cause for the engine failure. All but one of the 28 engines appear to be OK, but there is concern that if too many of them fail again, crew safety could be compromised. The engines are needed at the end of a flight to keep the capsule in the right position for the critical deorbit burn.

Will two astronauts get stuck?
NASA bristles at the suggestion that Wilmore and Williams are stranded or stuck. NASA has emphasized from the beginning that in the event of an emergency on the space station — such as a fire or decompression — the Starliner could still be used by the pair as a lifeboat to leave the station. A former NASA executive said Thursday that the astronauts are “kind of stranded,” although they are definitely not dead. They are safe aboard the space station with plenty of supplies and work to do, Scott Hubbard said.

If NASA decides to bring SpaceX back, Starliner would first be cleared to open up one of two parking spots for U.S. capsules. Before that happens, Wilmore and Williams will make their own spots on the SpaceX Dragon capsule that’s currently docked at the space station. That’s because every space station user needs a lifeboat at all times. Once the Starliner docking port is empty, SpaceX could launch another Dragon to fill the spot—the one Wilmore and Williams will fly.

Why would they have to wait until next year?
Like Boeing’s Starliner, SpaceX’s Dragon is set to carry four astronauts. To make room for Wilmore and Williams, NASA said Wednesday it may move two of the four astronauts scheduled to launch to the space station next month with SpaceX. The empty seats will be reserved for Wilmore and Williams, but they would have to stay there until February. That’s because missions to the station are expected to last at least six months. Some have lasted a year. The two Russians who are there now will finish their year-long stays by returning in September in a three-person Soyuz capsule with a NASA crew member. No one is thinking about ordering a special SpaceX Express, and the Dragon on the station is now a return trip home for the four residents next month.

This isn’t the first time an American astronaut has had an extended stay. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates spent just over a year in space after their docked Soyuz capsule was hit by space debris and leaked all of its coolant. An empty Russian capsule was sent to take them back last September.

What do astronauts think about all this?
Wilmore and Williams are retired Navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts who have both flown long missions on the space station. Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, said they expect to learn a lot about Starliner and how it works before this test flight. During their only news conference from space in July, they assured reporters that they were busy helping with repairs and research and expressed confidence in all the Starliner testing going on behind the scenes. They have yet to hear any public words about the prospects for an eight-month stay.

Is there enough food, water and air?
Wilmore and Williams’ suitcases were removed from Starliner before liftoff to make room for equipment urgently needed for the space station’s urine-to-water recycling system. So they had to make do with the spare clothes already there. A supply ship finally arrived this week with their clothes, along with extra food and science experiments for the entire nine-person crew. More supplies are due in a few months. As for air, the space station has its own oxygen-generating systems. Despite the fat reserves, NASA is eager to get back to normal as quickly as possible. In addition to Wilmore and Williams, there are four other Americans and three Russians on board.

Why is NASA sticking with Starliner?
NASA deliberately hired two companies to fly crews to and from the space station, just as it did for cargo. The space agency viewed it as a kind of insurance policy: If one crew or cargo provider was grounded, the other could fly the cargo. “You want to have another alternative, both for cost and for safety and options. So NASA needs Boeing to be successful,” said Hubbard, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003.

Even with the recent setbacks, NASA insists it wants to keep using Boeing Starliners to fly astronauts. The goal is to send one Dragon and one Starliner each year with a crew, six months apart, until the station is retired in 2030. SpaceX has been operating since 2020.

What does Boeing say?
Boeing insists its capsule can still bring astronauts home safely. But the company said Wednesday it would take steps necessary to bring the capsule home empty if NASA decides to do so. Last week, the company released a list of all the tests it has performed on the engines since launch.

“We continue to believe in the capabilities of Starliner and its flight rationale,” the company said.

Boeing, a longtime space contractor, has had to overcome many problems with Starliner over the years. The company had to launch an empty Starliner twice before committing to sending a crew, repeating an initial flight test because of bad software and other problems. Delays have cost the company more than $1 billion.

Hubbard wonders whether NASA and Boeing should have sent a crew into orbit over the site of the helium leak, which had other consequences.

“Whatever happens with Starliner, they need to figure out what the problem was and fix it,” he said. “And give everyone the confidence that they’re still in the aerospace business at a great rate.”