NASA announced Wednesday that it is studying the possibility of bringing back to Earth with SpaceX the first two astronauts transported to the International Space Station (ISS) by Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft, because of problems encountered with that vehicle.
Such a scenario would be a humiliation for Boeing, which had been tasked by NASA in 2014 with developing this new capsule – the same year as its competitor SpaceX. Elon Musk’s company has already been operating missions to the ISS for four years.
Starliner launched in early June with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard, on a final test mission to certify the spacecraft before it begins regular operations. It was originally scheduled to spend just over a week docked with the ISS before returning with its crew.
But Starliner encountered problems with its propulsion system and helium leaks during flight. Tests were therefore carried out to understand the causes, the results of which have so far failed to reassure NASA.
The US space agency is now considering letting Starliner return empty to Earth, and sending the two astronauts back in a SpaceX ship, NASA official Steve Stich said on Wednesday.
SpaceX’s next crewed mission, named Crew-9, is a regular ISS crew rotation mission that was to include four astronauts.
The latter could ultimately take off with only two astronauts, in order to be able to bring back the two Boeing space castaways upon its return. The latter would therefore remain on board the ISS until February, the date of the planned return of Crew-9.
“We have not approved this plan,” Steve Stich warned at a news conference. But “we have done all the work necessary to have this plan in place,” he added.
“Our preferred option is to bring Butch and Suni back on board Starliner,” he repeated, explaining that further testing should allow engineering teams to better understand the risks posed by the problems encountered on the ship.
He said NASA should decide between the two options by “mid-August.”
The Crew-9 launch date has been pushed back from August to late September to give NASA more time to make its decision.