Stranded in Space: Why NASA is Counting on SpaceX After Boeing’s Starliner Glitches

In a strange turn of events, NASA has announced that SpaceX will be responsible for bringing home two NASA astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, who are currently on the International Space Station (ISS) following a series of malfunctions in Boeing’s Starliner capsule. This decision underscores SpaceX’s critical role in NASA’s ongoing space operations while highlighting the continued challenges faced by Boeing’s Starliner program.

The Mission That Went Awry

Wilmore and Williams were launched to the ISS in early June 2024 aboard Boeing’s first test flight of the Starliner. The mission was supposed to last eight days, but the Starliner started to malfunction and lost five of its 28 thrusters in the first 24 hours. They also detected helium leaks, which raised serious safety concerns, stranding the pair on the International Space Station (ISS) and casting doubt on the spacecraft’s ability to bring them back.

Unfortunately, despite weeks of troubleshooting and analysis, NASA and Boeing engineers were unable to fully resolve the issues, leading NASA to make the difficult decision to turn to SpaceX for assistance.

SpaceX Steps In

Given the uncertain reliability of the Starliner, NASA opted to use SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, which has a proven track record of successful missions, to safely return Wilmore and Williams to Earth. The Crew Dragon will have two of its four seats reconfigured to accommodate the stranded astronauts as part of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which will take place in February.

Implications for Boeing and the Future

Boeing’s Starliner has had issues since the start, which include budget overruns and delays, and this setback further dents the company’s credibility. Boeing received substantial funding under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program many years ago and hasn’t been able to complete any successful flights. SpaceX, on the other hand, has accomplished much more at about half the cost, which is something that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is more than happy to point out in a string of posts on his social media platform X.

Despite this setback, NASA officials have said they will continue to support Boeing and are confident in the company’s ability to deliver a safe and reliable spacecraft. NASA’s commitment to having multiple commercial partners for its space missions remains unchanged, but this incident undeniably shifts more responsibility onto SpaceX in the near term​.

What Are the Astronauts Doing?

While stranded at the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams are conducting a number of important experiments. These include experiments on how microgravity affects biological systems, including human health, how various materials behave in space, and monitoring and photographing Earth for climate and environmental studies.

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