Captain’s log, Stardate 72 — and countingTwo astronauts stuck on the International Space Station won’t know their fate for at least another week while NASA dithers over their fate.On a live media call Wednesday, agency officials said they still don’t know what’s wrong with Boeing’s Starliner Spaceship and will be analyzing more data before making a decision by the end of next week on how astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will eventually make their way home after more than two months stranded on the ISS.The pair, who launched from Earth aboard the Starliner in June, were only supposed to spend eight days in space before returning home in June..But mechanical flaws with the unit’s thrusters have kept the craft in dry dock while technicians attempt to figure out what went wrong, to no avail.Since liftoff, the capsule has had five helium leaks, five manoeuvring thrusters go dead and a propellant valve fail. Apparently a urine-water recycling system onboard the Starliner has also failed.The latest mechanical problems come on the heels of dozens of other software glitches and other design problems that have put the program more than USD$1.5 billion over budget.Although Boeing insists the Starliner is safe for a return flight home, NASA officials are leery of the safety risks given the loss of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles — which were also built by Boeing. Thus observers say NASA is more likely to send the pair back on rival SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to dock at the ISS and return to Earth in February..But that’s not entirely without risk because the astronauts wouldn’t be able to use their Boeing space suits on the ride home, potentially subjecting them exposure from interstellar radiation.“Human spaceflight is not easy in any regime, and there have been multiple issues with every spacecraft that’s ever been designed, and that’s just the nature of what we do,” said Wilmore said. “You know that mantra, ‘Failure is not an option’.”.“Dammit, Jim. I’m a doctor, not an escalator!”Bones McCoy.Boeing has a long history of working with NASA on the space program. The company built the Mercury and Gemini capsules, the Apollo capsules, the Saturn V rocket, the space shuttle orbiters the space station itself.But in 2011 NASA hired both Boeing and then SpaceX to develop new spacecraft after the space shuttles were retired in 2011.SpaceX’s first flight was in 2020 while Boeing’s was in 2019. But it experienced so many glitches it had to go back to the drawing board before it could make a manned flight.Although NASA insists it wants two independent means of ferrying astronauts into space, it would be seen as a major embarrassment for Boeing if Wilmore and Williams were to return to Earth on Elon Musk’s space ride.Or, as Bones might say: “Dammit, Jim. I’m a doctor, not an escalator!”
Captain’s log, Stardate 72 — and countingTwo astronauts stuck on the International Space Station won’t know their fate for at least another week while NASA dithers over their fate.On a live media call Wednesday, agency officials said they still don’t know what’s wrong with Boeing’s Starliner Spaceship and will be analyzing more data before making a decision by the end of next week on how astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will eventually make their way home after more than two months stranded on the ISS.The pair, who launched from Earth aboard the Starliner in June, were only supposed to spend eight days in space before returning home in June..But mechanical flaws with the unit’s thrusters have kept the craft in dry dock while technicians attempt to figure out what went wrong, to no avail.Since liftoff, the capsule has had five helium leaks, five manoeuvring thrusters go dead and a propellant valve fail. Apparently a urine-water recycling system onboard the Starliner has also failed.The latest mechanical problems come on the heels of dozens of other software glitches and other design problems that have put the program more than USD$1.5 billion over budget.Although Boeing insists the Starliner is safe for a return flight home, NASA officials are leery of the safety risks given the loss of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles — which were also built by Boeing. Thus observers say NASA is more likely to send the pair back on rival SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to dock at the ISS and return to Earth in February..But that’s not entirely without risk because the astronauts wouldn’t be able to use their Boeing space suits on the ride home, potentially subjecting them exposure from interstellar radiation.“Human spaceflight is not easy in any regime, and there have been multiple issues with every spacecraft that’s ever been designed, and that’s just the nature of what we do,” said Wilmore said. “You know that mantra, ‘Failure is not an option’.”.“Dammit, Jim. I’m a doctor, not an escalator!”Bones McCoy.Boeing has a long history of working with NASA on the space program. The company built the Mercury and Gemini capsules, the Apollo capsules, the Saturn V rocket, the space shuttle orbiters the space station itself.But in 2011 NASA hired both Boeing and then SpaceX to develop new spacecraft after the space shuttles were retired in 2011.SpaceX’s first flight was in 2020 while Boeing’s was in 2019. But it experienced so many glitches it had to go back to the drawing board before it could make a manned flight.Although NASA insists it wants two independent means of ferrying astronauts into space, it would be seen as a major embarrassment for Boeing if Wilmore and Williams were to return to Earth on Elon Musk’s space ride.Or, as Bones might say: “Dammit, Jim. I’m a doctor, not an escalator!”
