Boeing’s Starliner that took two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) will return unmanned on September 6 as NASA found it unsafe for the return journey of the two now-stranded astronauts.
On June 5, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams went to the ISS on the Starliner on an 8-day trip, but now they cannot come back to Earth before February 2025 as the Starliner developed mechanical issues related to its propulsion system, which NASA believes can prove life-threatening for the astronauts.
It remains unclear if NASA will impose any restrictions on the vessel for its future manned space program or whether the agency will roll back its certifications of Boeing. If NASA takes any such step, it is likely to further tarnish Boeing’s reputation, which is already grappling with quality issues in its commercial airline business.
Boeing has already incurred losses of almost $1.5 billion on its Starliner program, and this latest setback is expected to cost them millions more in testing and redesign costs.
Ken Bowersox of NASA stated that the agency wanted to bring both astronauts back through the same Starliner and that they were disappointed by its unmanned return.
Meanwhile, Boeing engineers and strategies working on the safe return of the Starliner have repeatedly maintained that it is safe to bring the two astronauts back to Earth despite the prevailing gas leakages and propulsion issues.
Williams and Wilmore are now trapped for almost six more months in space and will only be able to return on the SpaceX mission that is set to depart the Earth in September and come back in February.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon has previously completed almost 12 manned trips to the ISS and has all the necessary certifications for conducting manned missions. However, the prolonged stay of both astronauts on the ISS comes with its own set of challenges.
NASA has previously revealed that the astronauts’ Boeing spacesuits are incompatible with the Crew Dragon spacecraft, bringing some headaches for the space agency.
Similarly, previous reports have indicated that as Williams and Wilmore only planned for eight days of the trip and will end up spending almost eight months before their return, they are likely to be exposed to dangerous radiation that could increase their vulnerability to developing cancer at some point in their lives. Normal crew members on the ISS are already exposed to elevated radiation levels, so Williams and Wilmore, who had never planned for such a long trip, will be exposed to even more danger.
NASA has also stated that the two people have already been integrated with the existing crew of the ISS and are performing routine maintenance tasks and conducting scientific experiments. Since their arrival at the station, they have been involved in research on robotics, ISS maintenance, fluid physics, and Earth observation.