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How SpaceX could end up rescuing

stranded astronauts if Boeing’s Starliner
can’t be fixed
By Ronny Reyes
120
Published June 25, 2024, 5:16 p.m. ET

SpaceX may be forced to come to the rescue of two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station
after their Boeing Starliner suffered troubling helium leaks.
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Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams soared into space on the Starliner on June 5 and were only
supposed to remain at the ISS for nine days — but issues with their ship have left their return date up in
the air, and NASA is furiously trying to help solve the problem.

Boeing rival SpaceX could potentially end up being tapped to ultimately bring them home aboard its Crew
Dragon spaceship.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will remain aboard the International Space Station until at least July 2.
REUTERS

6
Starliner remains docked at the International Space Stationyou
Before as officials
go ... study the helium leaks it suffered.
AP

00:00 03:40

The outcome would serve as a severe blow to troubled aerospace giant Boeing, which has spent about
$1.5 billion in cost overruns — beyond its initial $4.5 billion contract with NASA — in hopes of making
Starliner a second option to reach the ISS.

While NASA and Boeing officials have reiterated that the current problems aboard the Starliner don’t
indicate the need for SpaceX to lend a hand, the Crew Dragon is up to the task.
The SpaceX ship, which ferried four astronauts to the ISS in March, is capable of carrying two to four
passengers at a time, but it can fit additional occupants in an emergency.

SpaceX had served as the sole commercial company approved to transport astronauts and cargo to the
space station since 2020.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ Boeing Starliner suffered troubling helium leaks.
NASA

SpaceX did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment Tuesday.

Michael Lembeck, an aerospace engineering associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-
Champaign who served as a consultant for Boeing’s spaceflight division from 2009 to 2014, told The Post
that the Starliner is still likely to be Wilmore and Williams’ ride back to Earth.
 6

It’s possible that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon could be used to help bring the astronauts home.
via REUTERS

“Right now, I’d say the need for SpaceX to step up is very low,” Lembeck said. “We would have to see a
big problem come up in the next couple of days to warrant that reaction.”

Lembeck and Katsuo Kurabayashi, a professor of aerospace engineering at New York University, told The
Post that NASA most likely delayed the return trip home so that it could spend more time studying the craft
while it’s still attached to the ISS to learn more about what went wrong and how to avoid it for its next
mission.

While the capsule carrying the astronauts will make it back to Earth, the service module — which stores
6
the engines, fuel and the helium tanks — will not, Lembeck explained.

Starliner’s
glitches have
been an
embarrassing
blow for
maker
Boeing.
NASA/AFP via
Getty Images

“With ample helium gas remaining, it’s prudent for the teams to take sufficient time to ensure
that Starliner is fully prepared and certified for the return journey,” Kurabayashi added.

The NYU prof noted that the situation remains fluid and that the next updates that come from NASA will be
an indicator on how the issue has developed.

“If they start talking about a rescue mission by chance, it would indicate that there are some serious,
6
potentially life-threatening hardware defects found with Starliner,” Kurabayashi said.

Boeing is
hoping to
make its
Starliner the
 second
option for
NASA
scientists to
reach the
International
Space
Station.
AP

The last time a NASA astronaut needed help returning to Earth was in 2022, when Russia’s Soyuz capsule
sprang a leak with American Frank Rubio on board.

120 What do you think? Post a comment.

While NASA had considered tapping SpaceX for help, Rubio eventually returned aboard an empty Soyuz
capsule that Russia launched.

The incident extended Rubio’s six-month mission to one that lasted more than a year, or 371 days, a
recording-breaking length for an American in space.

FILED UNDER BOEING, INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, NASA, SPACEX, 6/25/24

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Conversation 120 Comments 242 Viewing

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Truth Be Told
17 hours ago
Boeing, once a great American company, is now a joke and should be penalized for all the
coverups they were involved in. Time for America to take action, even against itself when it's
warranted.
Reply · 70 · Share
 Average Citizen
16 hours ago
Boeing probably has a very robust DEI initiative, though.
Reply · 90 · Share
1 reply

the poop has hit the fan...

17 hours ago
If I was an astronaut, the last thing I'd get into is a rocket with BOEING painted on the side...
Reply · 78 · Share

NY Green Acres
12 hours ago
I think that feeling is going to supersede the "built by the lowest bidder" comment:

“I felt exactly how you would feel if you were getting ready to launch and knew you were
sitting on top of 2 million parts – all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”
This apocryphal quote comes from...
See more
Reply · 14 · Share

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