Boeing’s Starliner Risks Colliding With The ISS Due To Thruster Issues

Problems during Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft’s inaugural crewed mission have made two NASA astronauts stay on the International Space Station (ISS) for an unspecified period of time. This situation could force Boeing to rely on a rescue from Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The situation has grown even more alarming as sources revealed to Ars Technica that NASA fears Starliner could spin out of control and crash into the ISS if key thrusters fail during undocking, Business Insider reports.

NASA’s Milestones To Overcome Thruster Issues

Despite assuring that Starliner was safe for returning astronauts to Earth, NASA officials, who contracted Boeing in 2014 for ISS transport, admitted last week that they are still trying to understand the spacecraft’s issues. These issues include thruster malfunctions and helium leaks that occurred during its docking with the ISS.

NASA’s Backup Plan For Boeing’s Starliner

NASA is contemplating a backup plan to have the astronauts stay at the space station until 2025 and then return on a SpaceX rocket instead of using the Starliner as originally intended. However, the agency, which plans to make a decision by mid-August, faces significant risks with this crucial choice.

Officials revealed an internal debate at NASA over the next steps, with the term “uncertainty” mentioned 18 times during the press conference, according to CNBC. NASA and Boeing have not commented on the matter to Business Insider.

Relationship Between NASA And Boeing

The situation is straining the relationship between NASA and Boeing, with Boeing maintaining that Starliner is safe for crewed return. Notably, Boeing engineers did not attend last week’s press conference, deviating from standard practice. The root of the uncertainty remains unclear, though NASA engineers focused on thruster failures during Starliner’s docking with the ISS in June.

Will Beoing’s Starliner Collide With ISS?

Meanwhile, Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, warned Business Insider that losing too many thrusters could cause Boeing’s Starliner to drift uncontrollably or even collide with the space station.

“If you are undocking from the space station and you lose more than a certain number of your thrusters, there’s a chance that you might be stuck drifting and or even crash into the Space Station,” McDowell concluded.