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SALT LAKE CITY — NASA officials are still assessing data and working through a decision-making process to determine whether two veteran astronauts that flew the Boeing Starliner capsule to the International Space Station over two months ago will return to Earth in the coming weeks on the problem-plagued spacecraft or hitch a return ride on a SpaceX Dragon vehicle early next year.
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, said at a Wednesday press conference that his agency and Boeing officials are still gathering opinions from additional experts and assessing data about thruster failures that occurred during Starliner's docking procedure back in early June and how those problems may impact critical navigation maneuvers for the capsule's de-orbit maneuvers and return flight.
Bowersox said there continues to be a variety of opinions about the flight readiness status of Starliner but noted Boeing officials are confident their vehicle can safely return astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, both former Navy test pilots and veterans of multiple missions to the ISS.
"Let me just say I've got tremendous respect for Boeing and the Boeing team," he said. "I'm not surprised that the Boeing team is 100% behind the vehicle. That's what we would like from them. I can also tell you that they want to work with us in a partnership ... and when we get to a decision we'll work through it together."
Bowersox declined to offer any target dates for a final decision but estimated that a plan may be in place by the end of the month.
How to get Suni and Butch home
Last week, NASA outlined options for returning Williams and Wilmore should Starliner be deemed unfit for a crewed return flight, including putting them aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that, under one scenario, would return the two veteran astronauts and test pilots next February.
Last week, NASA announced the SpaceX Crew 9 mission to the International Space Station, originally scheduled to launch Aug. 18, was pushed back more than a month to potentially reconfigure that flight to make room for passengers when it returns next winter. Those potential changes include trimming Crew 9′s original four-astronaut crew to just two to make room for the currently stranded Starliner crew. The flight would also carry necessary equipment, like new spacesuits, for Williams and Wilmore to join the Dragon crew.
No representatives from Boeing participated in Wednesday's press briefing, but earlier this month the company issued its own press release that made a case for the Starliner spacecraft's fitness for bringing its astronauts back safely.
In the release, Boeing provided a lengthy and detailed list of the testing and analysis that has taken place since problems arose on Starliner's mission that launched June 5 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and docked at the ISS the following day. Officials from the aerospace giant's commercial crew program touted Starliner's current readiness for a safe return but also yielded to NASA's continued quest for better data on the issues.
"Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew," the release read. "We continue to support NASA's requests for additional testing, data, analysis and reviews to affirm the spacecraft's safe undocking and landing capabilities.
"Our confidence is based on this abundance of valuable testing from Boeing and NASA. The testing has confirmed 27 of 28 RCS thrusters are healthy and back to full operational capability. Starliner's propulsion system also maintains redundancy and the helium levels remain stable," the release said.
While this Starliner mission was planned to have a two-person crew aboard for the flights to and from the ISS, the space capsule can operate in a full autonomous mode, and software updates are underway to allow the spacecraft to undock and return to Earth on its own if the decision is made to accommodate the crew's return on another vehicle.
Previous reports from NASA detailed that five of 28 maneuvering thrusters failed to perform as expected during Starliner's docking at the space station on June 6. Engineers also identified five small helium leaks, some of which were detected before the spacecraft launched. Helium is used in the capsule's thruster firing procedure. The issues have led to a series of delays for Starliner's return flight.
