Boeing and NASA Tussle Over Plan to Bring Starliner Astronauts Home
Space agency considers using SpaceX to close out mission; Boeing says craft is safe for crew
The astronauts who flew to orbit on Boeing’s BA -1.19%decrease; red down pointing triangle Starliner spacecraft are waiting for NASA and the company to determine whether it will get them home.
Boeing has vouched for the craft. Not everyone at NASA is convinced, according to people close to the discussions, and the agency is working on backup plans that depend on SpaceX.
Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams have been aboard the International Space Station since June 6, when they became the first astronauts to fly in Boeing’s Starliner vehicle. The temporary failure of several thrusters and discovery of helium leaks in the ship’s propulsion system turned the planned weeklong visit to the ISS into an extended stay.
Tensions between Boeing and some NASA leaders surfaced last week, when officials couldn’t agree on using Starliner to take Wilmore and Williams back, and a detailed review of Starliner’s readiness for the flight back was postponed, according to people familiar with the situation.
NASA has been buying time as it deals with internal dissent over whether Starliner should return the two astronauts. The agency on Tuesday pushed back a planned SpaceX launch of a new ISS astronaut crew, delaying it from mid-August to Sept. 24, allowing more time to finalize return plans for Wilmore and Williams.
NASA officials are scheduled to discuss Starliner during a briefing Wednesday.
Starliner’s inaugural flight has led to a summer of scrutiny on a craft that Boeing has been developing for years. NASA wants both Boeing and SpaceX vehicles available to ferry crew to the space station, which officials have said would help ensure continuous access.
The mission originally was planned to last eight days. It has dragged out as NASA and Boeing officials assess problems with the thrusters and leaks, and what kinds of risks they might pose. Engineers have been studying both for weeks.
The thrusters are needed to position Starliner in space after it undocks, to prepare for deorbiting. Helium is needed to provide pressure in the propulsion system.
Boeing believes that Starliner is ready to fly. The company issued a statement Friday describing the in-orbit and on-the-ground testing that it and NASA have conducted.
Data from the testing supported “flight rationale”—NASA’s term for a space operation that is safe enough to pursue—for using the vehicle to return Wilmore and Williams, Boeing said.
Starliner is among the problems being inherited by Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, the aerospace giant’s incoming chief executive, who starts his new job on Thursday. Should NASA provide a final certification to Starliner, which Boeing is trying to secure with the current flight, the company is under contract to conduct another half-dozen flights with the vehicle.
It is possible that Boeing won’t be permitted to try to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth on Starliner. Instead, NASA may call on SpaceX to handle the mission’s last leg. That possibility has been discussed during recent NASA briefings. The agency is keeping all options on the table, a person familiar with NASA discussions said.
A SpaceX spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.
NASA turning to SpaceX to complete the mission would be a tough outcome for Boeing, which has deep ties to NASA that date to the Apollo moon landings. The company declined to comment further.
During a late July briefing, Boeing’s vice president overseeing Starliner, Mark Nappi, said he was confident in its ability to safely return the crew.
NASA said Tuesday that the agency and company continue to evaluate Starliner’s readiness, and no final decision had been made about its return.
Since starting development of Starliner more than a decade ago, Boeing has struggled with costly technical hurdles that put the spacecraft behind schedule and behind SpaceX. Elon Musk’s space company has been NASA’s sole U.S.-based option for launching crewed missions to low-Earth orbit. SpaceX successfully completed its first crewed flight to the space station more than four years ago.
Starliner’s launch in June with the two NASA astronauts on board was celebrated by current and former space executives at Boeing, some of who had spent a good part of their recent professional lives preparing the vehicle for the high stakes of transporting astronauts in space.
Wilmore and Williams have been following NASA and Boeing’s work on the challenges with Starliner, conducting scientific research and servicing equipment during their unexpected longer stay on ISS. Wilmore recently worked on assembling a centrifuge that will support future experiments, while Williams participated in a study looking into making optical fibers in microgravity.
The space station has plenty of food and supplies, officials have said. On operational missions, astronauts stay at the station for about six months.
The astronauts, both experienced former military pilots who have traveled to the space station before, last month expressed confidence in Starliner.
“Failure is not an option. That’s why we are staying here,” Wilmore told reporters during a July press conference from the ISS. “We’re going to get the data that we need.”
Starliner has flown twice before on test missions without anything on board. Boeing has struggled with software, valves and other problems with the spacecraft.
Last week, the company recorded a $125 million loss related to the Starliner program, according to a securities filing, adding to the roughly $1.4 billion in losses it previously recorded.