Squiz Shortcuts - The astronauts stranded in space

Your Shortcut to the astronauts stranded in space

In the first week of June, 2 NASA astronauts were launched into space on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. It was a test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) that was meant to last 8 days but they’ve been stuck there now for more than 2 months with no definite date of return. So in this Shortcut, we’ll look at:

• what went wrong

• what’s being done to get them home

• and how this mission could impact Boeing and the future of commercial space travel.

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Who are the astronauts?
Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams. Wilmore is the commander of the mission, and he came to a career in space after being a fighter pilot and a Navy captain in the US military (think Top Gun). His offsider, Williams, is the pilot. She’s also a former US Navy captain and a qualified helicopter pilot. They’re both highly experienced NASA astronauts with several missions and hundreds of hours of space travel under their belts. 

And a lot more after this one… When did they leave?
They blasted off from Cape Canaveral on 5 June and the mission was only meant to take 8 days but they’ve now been in space for over 10 weeks.

Where are they?
They’re on the International Space Station (ISS) so they made it to their destination and they’re safe and well. They’ve been in regular contact with NASA, which is America’s space agency, which says they knew that things might not go to plan on the mission...

What was the mission?
Wilmore and Williams were flying Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its first-ever crewed mission to the ISS. It was purpose-built to take astronauts and cargo to and from the ISS, like a space bus. NASA used to do this with its own shuttles, but it retired the last one in 2011. In 2014, it commissioned Boeing and Space X - Elon Musk’s space company - to design and build spacecraft to do the job instead.

Who got there first?
Space X’s Crew Dragon launched its first manned flight back in 2020 and has now completed dozens of trips to the ISS, but things haven’t gone as smoothly for Boeing’s Starliner…

What’s been happening?
Boeing had so many problems with its first uncrewed test flight in 2019 that it went back to the drawing board for a complete remake, which put them in the red by US$1.5 billion. Fast-forward to May this year and they thought they were ready, but the launch was delayed twice more due to last-minute problems.

So it was all fine when they finally launched?
Not quite… Before they left, scientists noticed a small helium leak which they said could be patched up on the ISS. But once Wilmore and Williams arrived, that leak had turned into 5 leaks in its propulsion system which caused 5 of its 28 thrusters to shut down. 

Can it be fixed?
Boeing scientists have been running repairs from the ground, and all but one of the thrusters have come back online, but they’re still having problems with the leaks. The issue is that it could affect the astronauts’ ability to control the speed of the Starliner when it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere. Boeing says it’s safe and that in an emergency, Williams and Wilmore could absolutely get home to Earth. But NASA isn’t prepared to risk it…

Who else is on the ISS?
Wilmore and Williams are up there with another 7 astronauts - 4 from the US and 3 from Russia. The ISS is basically a giant spaceship crossed with a science lab that orbits Earth, and people have been able to live and work on it since the year 2000. It’s around 400kms above Earth and it serves as a base for international space agencies to carry out research. 

What’s it like?
It’s like a 6-bedroom house with 2 bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree bay window, but it’s meant to only have 7 crew there at a time. An extra 2 astronauts can bunk in because they work in 8-hour shifts, but things are a bit crowded right now and food supplies could become an issue if that situation continues - although they did just get deliveries of supplies, clothes and medicine from the US and Russia in the past fortnight.

How are they spending their time?
We can assure you they’re not bored. Typically, people on the ISS are busy conducting research and carrying out maintenance - things like servicing the water and air-conditioning systems. And fun fact (or maybe not-so-fun) - they usually recycle their sweat and urine on the ISS, but there’s been a fault with the water system, meaning they’ve had to store their bodily fluids instead while they try to fix it. 

Eww… How do they stay fit and healthy?
With no gravity, it’s really important that they get a few hours of exercise every day so they don’t lose bone and muscle density. They even staged their own mini-Olympics while the Games were going on. 

Impressive… So how are they getting back to Earth? 
There are a few options for how they can get home, and NASA is due to make a decision by the end of the month. The first is that they fly the Starliner back to Earth and take their chances that nothing else will go wrong. But NASA won’t clear the Starliner for flight if it isn’t satisfied with Boeing’s test results.

What will happen if that’s the case?
If that happens, NASA says the astronauts can hitch a ride with Space X’s Crew Dragon. It’s due to leave Earth in late September for the ISS, but it’s scheduled to stay there until at least February next year - and that means it would be another 6 months until Wilmore and Williams get home. 

That’s a long time to be in space…
Yep. And experts say that if Boeing has to rely on Space X - its number one rival in the commercial space game - it would be a major humiliation, and another huge hit to Boeing’s reputation, which has already been damaged by safety problems in its commercial aircraft division… 

How so?
Boeing has just been fined US$243.6 million after it pleaded guilty to criminal fraud conspiracy over 2 fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. That’s on top of parts of planes blowing off mid-air due to key bolts being left out in the building process, and mass groundings of its fleet. We’ve done a whole Shortcut on Boeing’s safety issues if you’d like to get into what’s been happening. 

Can Boeing get the Starliner back unmanned?
Yes, but time is running out... The Starliner is built for 90 days in space and it’s already been there for more than 70. And, if anything goes wrong on the trip back, a lot of the spacecraft could burn up on re-entry, meaning the data onboard would be lost to researchers. And experts say that could spell the end of the Starliner program for Boeing, which would cost it billions of dollars and leave Space X as the only company currently operating a commercial space travel service.

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