Not going with Boeing: NASA astronauts who flew on Starliner to return on SpaceX Dragon
In a major blow to Boeing, NASA decided its two astronauts will not return on the Starliner spacecraft that carried them to the space station. Instead, the two astronauts will wait on the orbiting outpost until they can hitch a ride back with a SpaceX Dragon next year.
Saturday's decision came after nearly three months of study into the cause and possible risks associated with the malfunctioning thrusters on Starliner. The thruster issues first arose when Starliner attempted to dock at the International Space Station back in June, prompting NASA to indefinitely extend what had been expected to be an eight-day test flight mission for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams.
It's now been more than three months for the astronauts, and by the time they come home, they will have spent eight months in space.
Saturday's decision means:
Williams and Wilmore will join the upcoming Crew-9 mission. Originally, Crew-9 contained four astronauts but now it will only launch with two of the four, with Williams and Wilmore joining them at the outpost. The newly constituted Crew-9 will then return sometime in February on SpaceX's Dragon.
"This whole discussion, remember, is put in the context of we have had mistakes done in the past. We lost two space shuttles as a result of there not being a culture in which information could come forward," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "We have been very solicitous of all of our employees ? that if you have some objection, you come forward. Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and even at its most routine."
This decision, Nelson said, reflects NASA's "commitment to safety: our core value and our North Star."
What comes next after the Starliner decision
It's not clear yet which two of the four original Crew-9 astronauts will be part of this new mission.
Also unclear still: exactly what caused the thruster problems on Starliner.
The recent testing at NASA's White Sands Test Facility, which was an effort to find and fix the problem, led NASA to make this difficult decision, as the tests still showed the thrusters losing power on return to Earth. NASA said they still do not know why the loss of thrust occurred, yet they have narrowed it down to a troublesome Teflon part ? the malfunction causing the thrusters to overheat and shut off. “Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft," Boeing said in a statement released after NASA made its decision public Saturday.
"We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return.”
The Starliner is expected to return without a crew sometime next month.
No Boeing representative was present at the Saturday briefing.
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What led to the Starliner decision
Since the malfunction of Starliner's thrusters during the docking to the space station on June 6, NASA and Boeing have been racing for answers ? as time was starting to run out. The Starliner is taking up a necessary docking port. The space station is at capacity with all of its docking ports full, and one must be free before the Crew-9 Dragon can launch.
But the problem with the thrusters has not been easy to solve. The environment in space has proved difficult to recreate on the ground.
"We expect delivery on the contract," Nelson said, adding that he has confidence Boeing will solve the thruster issue and deliver on a crewed flight in the future.
Boeing's contract as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program is at a fixed price ? which was set at $4.82 billion in 2014. Therefore, additional testing and test flights will come out of Boeing's budget.
"I want you to know that Boeing has worked very hard with NASA to get the necessary data to make this decision. We want to further understand the root causes and understand the design improvements so that the Boeing Starliner will serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS," said Nelson. "I have just talked to the new Boeing CEO, Kelly Ortberg. I have expressed this to him."
What does this mean for the Starliner astronauts?
Dana Weigel, program manager for the International Space Station, mentioned during the briefing that NASA has no concerns about the health of Williams and Wilmore during the remainder of their eight month stay. The crew exercises daily to counteract the impacts of microgravity on the body's muscles.
According to NASA, astronauts have stayed onboard the space station for up to a year with little impact to their health.
As for their safety, the Crew-8 Dragon will be outfitted to serve as their lifeboat, should an emergency occur requiring them to quickly depart the space station before the Crew-9 Dragon arrives.
Officials acknowledged Saturday that this significant change to the astronauts' mission, keeping them in space longer, does require the support of their families back home.
"I care deeply about their families," said Norm Knight, flight operations director. He referred to the astronaut's families as the "pillars" of not only the astronauts, but of the work done at NASA.
How did Starliner get to this point?
Wilmore and Williams have been on the International Space Station since launching aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft atop an Atlas V rocket on June 5. Their mission was a test flight of the Starliner spacecraft aimed at certifying it to ferry NASA astronauts to and from the space station ? all part of NASA's commercial crew program.
Both SpaceX and Boeing were contracted by NASA in 2014 to provide transportation of NASA astronauts to and from the space station. The initial contracts were for $4.82 billion for Boeing and $3.14 billion for SpaceX.
SpaceX has left Boeing trailing behind. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft has successfully transported NASA crews since 2020. SpaceX's Dragon has also carried multiple private astronaut missions, and even has a cargo variant which is contracted to resupply missions to the space station. The Cargo Dragon flew multiple resupply missions before SpaceX decided Dragon was ready to ferry crew.
Meanwhile, Boeing had to reattempt their uncrewed test flight of Starliner when the first failed to reach the space station back in 2019. While the second uncrewed flight reached the space station and safely landed in 2022, multiple issues were discovered ? including two thrusters shutting off during the flight. These issues kept appearing right up until the day when Williams and Wilmore took off on this crewed flight test, as multiple helium leaks appeared after leaving the ground.
It didn't stop there, as yet again, a problem with the thrusters in the service module ? which is the disposable underneath of the spacecraft ? became apparent, shutting off during approach to the space station on June 6.
While the crew safely docked to the space station after the ground team was able to kick the thrusters back on, the issue prompted enough concern to cause NASA to re-evaluate whether Starliner was safe to carry the astronauts home.
With Saturday's decision, the Starliner spacecraft will return home in early September without crew. The exact date has yet to be announced. Its departure from the space station will make way for the SpaceX Dragon for NASA's Crew-9.
When the Starliner spacecraft returns, Boeing will continue the investigation into the thruster issue.
When questioned if he believes Boeing will ever deliver a crewed mission, administrator Nelson replied, "100 percent".
He added that Boeing has long been a great partner with NASA not only with Starliner but the space station and its work on the Artemis IV moon rocket. But regardless, this is a blow to a company that has seen its reputation suffer deeply in the last year due to problems with its planes, as well. This is another defeat: having to return the Starliner astronauts on the spacecraft run by its competitor, SpaceX.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: NASA not risking it: Starliner astronauts will return on SpaceX Dragon