A decision on the fate of the Boeing Starliner crew stuck on the ISS will be made within 24 hours

Time is quickly running out to make a fateful decision regarding the Boeing Starliner crew stuck on the ISS. On Saturday, August 24, 2024, senior agency officials will meet at NASA to make a final assessment of the spacecraft’s readiness for a crewed return. If Starliner is returned unmanned, it could kill its entire program, causing serious damage to Boeing.

Image source: NASA

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew the Starliner to the ISS on June 5, making the first manned test flight of this crew delivery vehicle to the ISS. Previously, Starliner flew to the ISS unmanned. In order for NASA to certify the Boeing ship for a series of commercial crew deliveries to the station, it was necessary to send people there. Wilmore and Williams, both veterans before retiring, became Starliner test pilots.

As in the case of the unmanned Starliner flight, several maneuvering engines failed when approaching the ISS with people on board. The docking was delayed until the next day while the ground crew brought four of the five disabled engines (28 in total) back online. The ship docked on June 6 and was scheduled to return the crew to Earth a week later. But then difficulties began. NASA specialists considered the situation with engine failures dangerous for the crew, and the agency initiated a hot investigation.

A thorough check of the operation of the Starliner maneuvering engine on Earth in a NASA laboratory revealed that the Teflon gasket in the oxidizer supply system swells due to overheating, which blocks the supply of this fuel component. According to the latest data, agency engineers have almost figured out the full physics and mechanics of the emerging malfunction and are ready to give it a full assessment, which should be the subject of today’s discussion at the mid-level mission control level. The conclusions drawn will be transferred to NASA management for a final decision at a meeting tomorrow.

Following the meeting of senior management, a press conference is planned on August 24 at 13:00 local time (at 20:00 Moscow time). It will announce the next steps for the Boeing Starliner mission. If the agency’s leadership decides that Starliner is dangerous for the crew, then Wilmore and Williams will stay on the ISS until February 2025 and return to Earth on SpaceX’s Dragon Crew-9. To do this, two astronauts will fly on Dragon Crew-9 at the end of September instead of the usual four. This will disrupt some plans for research and work on the station, but will improve the astronauts’ chances of returning to Earth safely.