NASA Gives Up On Stranded Astronauts Returning On Boeing Starliner

Photo: MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO / Contributor (Getty Images)

This has not been the best year for Boeing. Bad news keeps coming out on its planes, and its multi-billion-dollar spaceship has been stuck in limbo, with NASA trying to decide whether it can be used to bring two stranded astronauts back to Earth. Now, after more than 70 days, NASA has made its decision. The astronauts will remain onboard the International Space Station until February when a SpaceX Crew Dragon will pick them up, Futurism reports. That means a trip that was originally only supposed to last eight days will now stretch on for a full eight months.

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Considering the Starliner’s history, it feels like this was inevitable. Boeing and NASA chose not to scrap the mission even though helium leaks were discovered ahead of the launch. Then, after liftoff, they noticed the Starliner was having problems with its thrusters, too. For more than two months, they hoped they’d be able to fix enough problems to safely return. Now that that possibility is no longer an option, Boeing will have to update the Starliner’s software to allow it to remotely undock from the ISS without damaging it and then re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.

That’s bad news if you’re Boeing. The Starliner program already cost the aerospace giant an additional $1.5 billion on top of the $5 billion contract it had with NASA, and while it’s possible Boeing could get another chance at manned space flight in the future, the odds are not looking good. If SpaceX can rescue the stranded astronauts in February, we may be looking at the end of the Boeing space program.

It’s even worse news for the two astronauts who were supposed to be gone for a little more than a week and will now stuck in space for a full eight months. They’re largely cut off from family and friends. They’re going to miss birthdays and anniversaries. They’re going to be forced to poop in space for eight months. Sure, you could say they knew what they were signing up for, but come on. Eight months is excessive, even for astronauts.