NASA has shared more details on how it hopes to get Boeing’s stricken Starliner craft and its two test pilots safely back to Earth from the International Space Station, if the Calamity Capsule is deemed unsuitable for a crewed return.
During a briefing today, Steve Stich, NASA’s manager of its Commercial Crew Program; Dana Weigel, manager of the International Space Station (ISS) Program; and Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate outlined contingency plans that could be used if engineers and bosses aren’t satisfied Starliner can return in one piece.
The craft, which is right now docked to the station, is not cleared to leave the orbiting lab due to fears that problems with the pod’s thrusters, as well as helium leaks, could put its two crew, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, in mortal danger. Starliner went up with the duo onboard in June, rendezvoused with the station for what was expected to be a week-long mission, and has been stuck there ever since over safety concerns rather than returning to Earth.
In the event Starliner is deemed unsuitable for a crewed return – and this is still very much an ‘if’ at present – the plan would be to fly a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the station as expected – the mission dubbed Crew-9 – but with only two astronauts rather than four, and whatever equipment is needed. Boeing’s Wilmore and Williams would then become part of Crew-9 and return to Earth in the SpaceX pod in February 2025.
Starliner itself would make an uncrewed return. The NASA team explained that while the software loaded into the capsule was perfectly capable of an autonomous return – after all, that was how a previous uncrewed flight test worked – some parameters would need to be changed to reflect the lack of a crew.
In addition, some simulations and training on the ground would be needed to verify the changed procedures.
The crux of the problem appears to be that without a definitive explanation for anomalies previously witnessed with the hardware – the thruster issues and the helium leaks – the NASA team has been unable to reach a consensus over returning humans on Starliner.
During the briefing, Stich described the discussions and debates as “vigorous” and said of the problems, “Some in the team don’t see that level of risk as something we should entertain.”
NASA is bringing in extra propulsion experts from its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Glenn Research Center, and the Goddard Space Flight Center to come up with a definitive recommendation. There is every chance that a final decision could go all the way up to the NASA Administrator.
Stich would not be drawn on which astronauts from Crew-9 would be removed to make way for Wilmore and Williams; after all, the primary plan is still to bring the crew back on Starliner.
There was also no definitive answer on what an uncrewed return might mean for certifying Starliner as an operational crew transport vehicle.
However, the NASA team gave the distinct impression that returning the Starliner pilots on a Crew Dragon spacecraft had moved from a remote possibility to something that was now being actively and urgently being considered. ®
