In a major blow to Boeing’s space ambitions, NASA has decided to use SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft to return two astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS), abandoning original plans to use Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft due to ongoing technical issues.
Ars Technical Reports Ten years after NASA awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion contract to develop the Starliner crew vehicle to transport astronauts to the ISS, the program is at a critical juncture. The decision not to use Starliner to return astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams is a major setback for Boeing’s space ambitions and raises questions about the future of the Starliner program.
The Starliner spacecraft, which launched with Wilmore and Williams on June 5, successfully docked with the ISS on the 6th. However, the mission encountered significant technical problems: Five of the spacecraft’s 28 reaction control system thrusters overheated and failed as the spacecraft approached the ISS. Additionally, a helium leak from the propulsion system, discovered before launch, worsened once Starliner reached orbit.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson emphasized the agency’s commitment to safety, saying, “Space flight involves risks even at the safest and most routine of times, and test flights are inherently neither safe nor routine.” This cautious approach reflects lessons learned from past tragedies, including the losses of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia.
The decision to use SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to return the astronauts will extend their stay on the ISS from the originally planned eight days to approximately eight months. The astronauts are currently scheduled to return to Earth on SpaceX’s Dragon Crew 9 mission in February 2025.
NASA Associate Administrator Jim Freeh explained the decision: “We’re looking at the data, and I think we have a different way of looking at the data and the uncertainties that are there than Boeing. This is not a matter of trust. It’s our technical expertise and experience that we have to balance.”
This deployment has significant implications for Boeing’s $4.2 billion contract with NASA, which initially included up to six operational crewed flights. With the ISS scheduled for retirement in 2030, it seems unlikely that Boeing will be able to complete all six missions before the station’s decommissioning. Notably, after NASA cleared Boeing for operational use of the Starliner, it only placed a firm order for three flights.
Boeing, which has already reported a $1.6 billion loss in its financial statements due to delays and cost overruns on the Starliner program, will need to make further investments to redesign elements of the spacecraft’s propulsion system to address problems encountered during this mission.
The root of the thruster problem lies in the design of Starliner’s propulsion pods. “We’re clearly running these thrusters at a higher temperature than they were designed for,” explained Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager. The doghouse-shaped thruster pods can trap heat from repeated firings, causing them to overheat and fail.
This isn’t the first setback for Starliner, which has had problems including software issues that cut short its first test flight in 2019, corrosion in a propulsion system valve that delayed its second unmanned test flight, and flammable tape discovered inside the capsule’s cockpit last year.
In contrast, SpaceX has successfully launched eight operational long-duration crew missions to the ISS, in addition to its first crewed test flight and several privately-manned spaceflight missions. SpaceX has completed all work under its initial commercial crew contract with NASA and is currently operating under an extension contract through 2030.
The situation has reportedly hurt morale among Boeing employees, with one anonymous Boeing employee expressing embarrassment and frustration, saying: of New York Post“We’ve had a lot of embarrassment recently and we’ve been under a lot of scrutiny. This has just made it 100 times worse.”
It remains to be seen whether NASA will ask Boeing to conduct another unmanned test flight of Starliner, or whether the spacecraft will be able to proceed to operational service after resolving the propulsion issues. Either way, it seems unlikely that Starliner will fly crewed again before 2026.
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship.
