SpaceX may be forced to rescue two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner suffered a worrying helium leak.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off into space aboard the Starliner on June 5 and were only supposed to stay on the ISS for nine days — but problems with their ship have left their return date up in the air, and NASA is now scrambling furiously. help solve the problem.
Rival Boeing SpaceX could potentially end up eavesdropping to eventually bring them home aboard its Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The result would serve as a heavy blow to troubled aerospace giant Boeing, which has spent about $1.5 billion in cost overruns — on top of the original $4.5 billion contract with NASA — in hopes of making the Starliner a second option to reach ISS.
While NASA and Boeing officials have reiterated that the current problems aboard the Starliner do not indicate a need for SpaceX’s help, Crew Dragon is ready for the task.
The SpaceX ship, which recently delivered four astronauts to the ISS in March, is capable of carrying two to four passengers at a time, but can accommodate additional passengers in an emergency.
SpaceX served as the only commercial company approved to carry astronauts and cargo to the space station as of 2020.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on Tuesday.
Michael Lembeck, an associate professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who served as a consultant for Boeing’s space flight division from 2009 to 2014, told The Post that the Starliner is still likely to be Wilmore and Williams’ ride back to Earth.
“Right now, I would say the need for SpaceX to accelerate is very low,” Lembeck said. “We would have to see a major problem emerge in the next few days to warrant that kind of response.”
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 they could spend more time studying the craft while it is still attached to the ISS to learn more about what happened. wrong and how to avoid it for the next mission.
While the capsule with the astronauts will make it back to Earth, the service module — which stores the engines, fuel and helium tanks — will not, Lembeck explained.
“Given the ample amount of helium remaining, it is prudent for the teams to devote sufficient time to ensure that the Starliner is fully prepared and certified for the return journey,” added Kurabayashi.
The NYU professor noted that the situation remains fluid and that further updates to come from NASA will be an indication of how the problem has evolved.
“If they happen to start talking about a rescue mission, that would mean that some serious, potentially life-threatening hardware faults have been found with the Sarliner,” Kurabayashi said.
The last time a NASA astronaut needed help returning to Earth was in 2022, when there was a leak from a Russian Soyuz capsule with American Frank Rubio on board.
While NASA considered using SpaceX to help, Rubio eventually returned aboard an empty Soyuz capsule launched by Russia.
The incident extended Rubio’s six-month mission to one that lasted more than a year, or 371 days, a record for an American in space.