NASA faces a critical decision regarding the return of astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station (ISS. This follows concerns over the Boeing Starliner’s autonomous undocking capabilities, which are required for a safe return to Earth, as well as the potential damage that could be caused to one of only two docking ports on the ISS.
The Boeing Crew Flight Test was launched from Cape Canaveral over two months ago but has faced multiple technical issues, extending its originally planned eight-day mission significantly. As NASA deliberates on the best course of action for bringing the astronauts home, a surprising revelation has emerged concerning the Starliner’s flight software. According to sources who spoke to Ars Technica, the current flight software onboard the Starliner lacks the ability to perform an automated undocking from the ISS and entry into Earth’s atmosphere. This is particularly perplexing as Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test 2 mission in May 2022 successfully demonstrated the spacecraft’s capacity for autonomous docking and return to Earth.
Boeing has proposed pushing a software update to the Starliner in orbit to address this issue. However, NASA is hesitant to proceed with this plan, fearing that it could potentially damage one of the two crewed-vehicle docking ports on the ISS. The space agency must be absolutely certain that any attempt to autonomously return the Starliner to Earth would not render the port inoperable.
As a result of these concerns, NASA is considering an alternative solution: bringing Wilmore and Williams home on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and flying the Boeing Starliner back empty. This option would require delaying the upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission, originally scheduled for August 18, to September 24. The mission would then be conducted with two astronauts instead of four, leaving two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams.
The root cause behind the Starliner thruster failures that have prolonged the mission remains unknown, further complicating the decision-making process. NASA’s primary concern is ensuring the safety of the astronauts and the integrity of the ISS while finding a solution to the Starliner’s software issues.