The Boeing Starliner on which Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 was touted as a space capsule made by astronauts for astronauts but, much to the embarrassment of Boeing, is now set to return without any human spacefarers. The return journey, in autonomous mode, is slated for September 6 and the Starliner is expected to land about six hours after it undocks.

The Starliner, whose development was plagued by delays, was on its first crewed test flight, carrying Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore for what was meant to be an eight-day mission. The two astronauts have been at the International Space Station since June 6 and their stay kept getting extended because of propulsion issues on the Starliner. NASA announced on August 24 that the astronauts would return to Earth in February 2025 and the Boeing spacecraft would come back without its crew.  

The uncrewed return allows NASA and Boeing to continue gathering testing data on the Starliner during its flight home while also allowing it not to accept more risk than is necessary for its crew. NASA officials said the decision was “unanimous” on its part, while Boeing asserted it could return the Starliner both with or without crew.

‘Tense Meeting’

The space agency has confirmed that the decision to get the spacecraft to return without crew was taken at a “tense” meeting between NASA and Boeing officials.

Explaining the decision, NASA chief Senator Bill Nelson, who is also a former astronaut, said, “Spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. A test flight, by nature, is neither safe nor routine.

The decision to keep Butch and Suni (Sunita Williams) aboard the International Space Station and bring Boeing’s Starliner home without crew is the result of our commitment to safety – our core value and our North Star.”

Boeing, on its part, said it remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew. “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 that 27 of 28 RCS (reaction control system) thrusters are healthy and back to full operational capability,” the company said in a statement.
“Starliner’s propulsion system also maintains redundancy and the helium levels remain stable. The data also supports root cause assessments for the helium and thruster issues and flight rationale for Starliner and its crew’s return to Earth,” it added.  

Requirements Unmet

But NASA, having burnt its fingers after the twin accidents of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles, did not want to take any risks.

In a statement, NASA said the “uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight”.

Experts said the space capsule which Indian origin astronaut Sunita Williams had piloted to the International Space Station (ISS) is the most modern crew module and has been designed to ensure that astronauts who fly in it are safe and comfortable. Ms Williams herself has her imprint on almost all aspects of the spacecraft as she has been involved in its making for a long time.

Calypso

According to data released by Boeing, the Starliner has a height of 5 metres with both the crew module and service module, a diameter of 4.6 metres, and weighs 13,000 kg at lift-off. The Starliner is designed to accommodate a maximum crew of seven, but NASA missions will carry a crew of four to five. Each crew module is designed to fly up to 10 missions, so it is partially reusable. The service modules, however, are made for each mission as they get jettisoned in space.

The Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft was designed for a mix of crew and cargo for missions to low-Earth orbit.

Ms Williams, who had also called the Starliner a ‘fantastic spacecraft’, was given the opportunity to name the spacecraft she would fly in and decided to call it ‘Calypso’ – after the famous ship on which the French oceanographer and legendary filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau explored the oceans when she was still a student.

The making of the Starliner was much delayed and went way over the budget, and some say the same problems which have beset the Boeing Company in its aviation business may be plaguing the space side as well.

In 2014, NASA had awarded a $ 4.2 billion contract to Boeing for making the Starliner from scratch and it managed to go on its first human spaceflight only this June – ten years later. In comparison, Space X, which was given a similar contract for the development of Crew Dragon,  delivered it at an estimated cost of $ 2.6 billion and has been ferrying astronauts since 2020. Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore will also be returning to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon.

Development To Continue

On August 24, the NASA chief said he had 100% confidence that the Boeing Starliner would continue to be developed but asserted that the agency had awarded a fixed-price contract to Boeing, meaning that the company will have to bear the extra costs for its full certification as a human space flight-worthy vehicle at its own expense.

The Starliner had also been making headlines recently for “strange noises” emanating from it, which have now been identified as feedback from a speaker.