By James Rogers
‘These commercial companies cannot afford to have an accident because it could completely end their program,’ notes former astronaut Eileen Collins
Boeing Co.’s confidence in the ability of its Starliner space capsule to bring NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back home to earth “speaks volumes” amid the uncertainty swirling around the troubled mission, according to former Space Shuttle commander Eileen Collins.
There was a major twist in the Starliner saga last week when NASA discussed the possibility of bringing astronauts Wilmore and Williams back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. But in a statement released after NASA’s Aug. 7 press conference, Boeing (BA) said that Starliner could still bring Wilmore and Williams safely home. “Crew Flight Test is currently a crewed mission, and we still believe in Starliner’s capability and its flight rationale,” the company said. “If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return.”
Collins, who is the author of “Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission,” feels that Boeing’s unequivocal language is noteworthy. “Boeing’s statement that they can come home safely on Starliner speaks volumes to me,” she said. “These commercial companies cannot afford to have an accident because it could completely end their program.”
‘Elon’s just a call away’: Latest twist in Boeing’s Starliner saga underlines SpaceX’s progress
The former astronaut flew four space shuttle missions during her 16-year NASA career, and was commander of STS-114 in 2005, the ‘Return to Flight’ mission after the 2003 Columbia disaster. Seven years earlier NASA had been rocked by another tragedy when the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after launch.
“The lessons learned from these two accidents are taught to the NASA employees,” said Collins. “Because of that, the engineers are willing to speak up, and managers are more willing to listen.”
Speaking during last week’s press conference, Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, said the agency is looking to “drive some more consensus amongst our team,” around Starliner. “I have to admit that sometimes, when we get disagreement, it’s not fun, it can be painful having those discussions, but it’s what makes us a good organization and it’s what will get us to a good decision,” he added.
Related: NASA says growing odds that astronauts may switch from Boeing to SpaceX for ride back to Earth
NASA and Boeing have wrestled with helium leaks and thruster issues on Starliner, which launched to the orbiting space lab on June 5. The capsule was initially expected to be docked with the ISS for at least eight days before bring Wilmore and Williams home. However, the astronauts have now been on the space station for more than 60 days.
The next SpaceX Crew Dragon flight, Crew-9, will launch to the ISS no earlier than Sept. 24., and is expected to return to Earth in February 2025. Returning Wilmore and Williams on a Dragon spacecraft would mean that only two astronauts, rather than four, launch to the ISS in September. It would also mean that Starliner would undock from the space station and return to Earth uncrewed.
During last week’s press conference, NASA said that no decision has yet been made on whether Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth on Starliner or SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. A final decision on the astronauts’ return journey is expected by mid-August.
Related: NASA ‘not quite ready’ to bring Boeing Starliner astronauts home
Despite the spacecraft’s problems, Collins thinks that Starliner will eventually deliver benefits to NASA. “Starliner is having some growing pains, but I think it will be successful in the long run,” she told MarketWatch.
The astronaut also told MarketWatch that she knows both Wilmore and Williams personally. “They are highly competent test pilots – they are steady, solid decision makers – they are good test pilots,” she said. “If I was Butch and Suni I would insist on daily updates from NASA, as well as Boeing.” Boeing shares are down 2.2% Monday. The stock is down 40% in 2024, compared with the S&P 500 index’s SPX gain of 11.9%.