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On August 24th local time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the final decision that day. Due to concerns about the safety of Boeing's "Starliner", the two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station will change to the "Dragon" spacecraft of the US SpaceX company to return to Earth, regularly in February next year. The original 8-day space journey of the two will be extended to at least 8 months.

As for the thruster failure andHelium leakThe "Starliner" with problems such as the "Starliner" is expected to return to Earth without a crew in early September this year. Reuters said that this means that NASA and Boeing have abandoned the core test goal of letting astronauts control the return of the spacecraft. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a press conference on the 24th that the decision was made "out of a commitment to safety."

American astronauts Barry Wilmore (left) and Sunita Williams, who were forced to stay in the space station, were forced to stay in the space station.

Since the model cannot accurately predict how many thrusters of the Starliner will still work properly, NASA is worried that it may overheat during its return flight, posing a safety hazard. Steve Stich, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, admitted that when the research team reviewed the relevant data, including data on possible thruster failures with crew members, "the risk was too great."

Norm Knight, NASA's deputy administrator for flight operations, said he spoke with the two astronauts on the 24th and they fully supported the decision to postpone their return. However, the Associated Press pointed out that the two astronauts actually have no more options. Currently, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked with the International Space Station can no longer accommodate more people, so NASA can only wait for SpaceX's next space mission.

It is reported that SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was originally prepared for the Crew-9 mission to be carried out in September. It was originally planned to carry four astronauts on launch. Now it will be modified according to the needs of the "Starliner" astronauts. Only two people will be sent to make room, and the cargo will also be reconfigured to carry more cargo, personal belongings and special Dragon spacesuits for the "Starliner" duo.

According to Reuters on the 24th, several senior NASA officials and Boeing representatives made the above decision at a meeting in Houston that morning. Ken Bowersox, NASA's deputy administrator for space operations, said that NASA officials voted unanimously in favor of letting the Dragon spacecraft bring astronauts back to Earth. Boeing voted in favor of the Starliner, arguing that its product is safe.

Boeing did not send a representative to attend the later press conference. Mark Nappi, Boeing's "Starliner" project manager, admitted in an email that "this is not the decision we hoped for," but said he would be ready to take necessary actions to support NASA's decision. Boeing issued a statement on the 24th saying: "We will continue to focus first on the safety of the crew and the spacecraft... We are preparing for the safe and successful return of the spacecraft without people."

Nelson held a press conference on the 24th to announce the final decision.

Boeing's first manned test flight of the Starliner ended in this way. Many US media believe that NASA's decision is a blow to Boeing and has exacerbated public concerns about the safety of its products. The Associated Press said that after years of delays and cost inflation, Boeing had hoped to revive its troubled spacecraft project with the first manned test flight of the Starliner.

Although Nelson added on the 24th that he was "100 percent" sure that the "Starliner" would carry NASA astronauts again, NASA officials said they were not sure whether Boeing would be required to conduct another test flight before certifying that the spacecraft could perform routine missions. CNN pointed out that if the "Starliner" is denied certification, it will once again hit Boeing's already severely damaged reputation. Failure to meet the target could cause Boeing millions of dollars in losses - according to previous financial reports, Boeing's "Starliner" project has exceeded the budget by about $1.5 billion.

Nelson reiterated on the 24th that NASA and Boeing signed a "fixed price contract", which means that the contract is a one-time payment, and the payment amount will not increase with the extension like other contracts. Nelson also said that how much Boeing is willing to pay for additional flight tests is not within the scope of his conversation with Boeing executives. "I don't have an answer, and I don't think we will have an answer."

Jan Osburg, a senior engineer at the RAND Corporation specializing in aerospace and defense research, believes that NASA ultimately made the right choice, but the incident will still leave the United States "left with egg on its face" because the design problems of the Starliner "should have been discovered earlier."

On June 5, Boeing's Starliner was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida, USA, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, sending American astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams to the International Space Station. The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on June 6 and was originally scheduled to leave the space station and return to Earth on June 14, but due to problems such as thruster failure and helium leakage, the return time has been repeatedly postponed.

Wilmore later recalled at a briefing that he "could feel the thrust drop" when he manually controlled the spacecraft to approach the space station on June 6, but the experience was still "impressive." Reuters said that before docking with the space station, five of the Starliner's 28 thrusters failed (four later recovered), one thruster valve did not close properly, and five helium leaks were reported for thruster pressurization.

Source: Observer.com