Key Points
- NASA to decide by late August whether to bring astronauts home on Boeing’s Starliner or SpaceX.
- Boeing Starliner’s thruster problems are responsible for delay in return.
- SpaceX can bring the astronauts back on 24 September.
But their return has been delayed by thruster malfunctions that came to light during the first crewed mission to the ISS by the Boeing spacecraft.
“But it’s getting a lot harder,” Bowersox said. “We’re reaching a point where that last week in August we really should be making a call, if not sooner.”
Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams are currently struck in space. The pair have been on the International Space Station since 5 June, for what was meant to be an eight-day trip. Source: Getty / Kirk Sides
He said the two astronauts were “making the best” of their extra time aboard the ISS “but I’m sure they’re eager for a decision, just like the rest of us.”
“Our big concern is having a successful deorbit burn,” he said.
In the event a decision is made not to use Starliner, Boeing’s rival SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, could potentially launch their scheduled Crew-9 mission to the ISS on September 24 with just two astronauts rather than the usual four.
“Human space flight is inherently risky and as astronauts we accept that as part of the job,” he said.
Source Agencies
