NASA today picked Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring back Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore from space next year. Eighty days ago, the two astronauts arrived at the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner for an 8-day mission. They were forced to extend their stay because of major technical issues with the Boeing capsule.

The astronauts are expected to return in February next year, after spending a total of eight months in orbit, on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft due to launch next month as part of a routine astronaut rotation mission.

NASA chief Bill Nelson said Starliner’s propulsion system is too risky to carry its first crew home. Starliner will undock from the ISS without a crew and attempt to return to Earth as it would have with astronauts aboard.

The space agency’s decision to pick Boeing’s top space rival marked a fresh setback to the Starliner test mission. Boeing had hoped the mission would redeem the troubled program after years of development problems and over $1.6 billion in budget overruns since 2016.

Nelson said he discussed the agency’s decision with Boeing’s new CEO Kelly Ortberg.

The SpaceX Crew-9 mission will take off in late September, but carrying only two passengers instead of the originally planned four.

It will remain moored to the ISS until its scheduled return in February, bringing back its own crew members plus their two stranded colleagues.

The veteran NASA astronauts, both former military test pilots, became the first crew to ride Starliner on June 5 when they were launched to the ISS.

Starliner’s propulsion system suffered multiple glitches beginning in the first 24 hours of its flight to the ISS, triggering months of cascading delays. Five of its 28 thrusters failed and it sprang several leaks of helium, which is used to pressurise the thrusters.

Since Starliner docked to the ISS in June, Boeing has scrambled to investigate what caused its thruster mishaps and helium leaks. The company arranged tests and simulations on Earth to gather data that it has used to try and convince NASA officials that Starliner is safe to fly the crew back home.

But results from that testing raised more difficult engineering questions and ultimately failed to quell NASA officials’ concerns about Starliner’s ability to make its crewed return trip – the most daunting and complex part of the test mission.

Washington:

Problems with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, still docked at the International Space Station (ISS), have upended the original plans for its return of its two astronauts to Earth, as last-minute fixes and tests draw out a mission crucial to the future of Boeing’s space division.

NASA has rescheduled the planned return three times, and now has no date set for it. Since its June 5 liftoff, the capsule has had five helium leaks, five maneuvering thrusters go dead and a propellant valve fail to close completely, prompting the crew in space and mission managers in Houston to spend more time than expected pursuing fixes mid-mission.

Here is an explanation of potential paths forward for Starliner and its veteran NASA astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Starliner can stay docked at the ISS for up to 45 days, according to comments by NASA’s commercial crew manager Steve Stich to reporters. But if absolutely necessary, such as if more problems arise that mission officials cannot fix in time, it could stay docked for up to 72 days, relying on various backup systems, according to a person familiar with flight planning.

Internally at NASA, Starliner’s latest targeted return date is July 6, according to this source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Such a return date would mean that the mission, originally planned for eight days, instead would last a month.

Starliner’s expendable propulsion system is part of the craft’s “service module.” The current problems center on this system, which is needed to back the capsule away from the ISS and position it to dive through Earth’s atmosphere. Many of Starliner’s thrusters have overheated when fired, and the leaks of helium – used to pressurize the thrusters – appear to be connected to how frequently they are used, according to Stich.

Stich said recent test-firings of the thrusters while Starliner remains docked gave mission teams confidence in a safe return, though tests and reviews are ongoing. The mission management team, made up of NASA and Boeing personnel, is scrutinizing data on the propulsion issues, running simulations in Houston and considering how to fix them, such as by updating software or changing how the hardware is used.

Once NASA officials give the team a go-ahead for a return, Starliner’s thrusters would be used to undock the capsule from the ISS and begin a roughly six-hour journey home, gradually tightening its orbit before plunging into Earth’s atmosphere for a landing, assisted by parachutes and airbags, at one of several potential locations in the southwestern United States.

This is Starliner’s first mission to orbit carrying astronauts – the final test needed before NASA can certify it as the U.S. space agency’s second ride to the ISS. It would join SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has dominated the government and nascent private markets for human spaceflight amid Starliner’s years-long delays.

IF THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS

Even with the propulsion system issues, NASA has said Starliner still would be capable of returning the astronauts to Earth if absolutely necessary – that is, if the capsule must serve as an escape pod from the ISS in an emergency or if any of Starliner’s perishable items – such as its solar panels – show signs of expiring earlier than planned.

Unlike Starliner’s current mission, NASA did not set a scheduled return date for Crew Dragon’s first mission carrying astronauts in 2020. That mission ultimately lasted 62 days because the astronauts needed to help out on ISS maintenance because the space station was short-staffed at the time.

IF STARLINER CANNOT BE USED

If Starliner is deemed incapable of safely returning Wilmore and Williams to Earth, one option would be sending them home aboard Crew Dragon, which ferried four astronauts to the station in March and is able to fit more people in an emergency.

That scenario, considered unlikely, would undoubtedly be embarrassing for Boeing. But NASA and Boeing officials, as well as engineers familiar with the program, told Reuters nothing about Starliner’s current problems indicates this would be needed.

In such a scenario, Starliner’s fate would depend on various factors including the extent of its technical issues.

The last time a NASA astronaut needed an alternative ride home came in 2022, when Russia’s Soyuz capsule sprang a coolant leak after delivering to the station two cosmonauts and American astronaut Frank Rubio.

NASA had considered Crew Dragon as an alternative ride home for Rubio but he eventually used an empty Soyuz capsule that Russia launched as a rescue craft. Rubio’s mission was extended from six months to a bit more than a year – 371 days – a record-breaking duration for an American in space.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Cape Canaveral:

Ground control teams dramatically called off the first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spaceship Saturday with just under four minutes left on the launch countdown clock, for reasons that are not year clear.

It was the latest setback for the troubled program, which has faced years of delays and safety scares. A previous launch attempt was canceled on May 6.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

The first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner to the International Space Station has been delayed again due to a technical issue, NASA said Friday.

The launch in Florida was scheduled for Tuesday but NASA said it is now planned for May 25 to allow teams to further assess a helium leak linked to the service module, which sits on top of the rocket.

Earlier this month, a Starliner launch was postponed just hours before lift-off, with the astronauts already strapped in, due to a separate technical issue. 

“The additional time allows teams to further assess” the helium leak, NASA said on its website.

The two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, are in the meantime staying in Houston, Texas until the mission is ready.

It is another delay in the highly anticipated mission which has faced years of delays and comes at a challenging time for Boeing, as safety questions surround the century-old aerospace titan’s commercial aviation arm.

NASA is banking on Starliner’s success for its goal of certifying a second commercial vehicle to carry crews to the International Space Station. 

Elon Musk’s SpaceX already achieved this in 2020 with its Dragon capsule, ending a nearly decade-long dependence on Russian rockets following the end of the Space Shuttle program.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)