Boeing spacecraft unreliable, astronauts "stranded" for 8 months, NASA unable to break away from reliance on SpaceX
NASA announced that Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will not carry two astronauts back to Earth in June this year, and the two astronauts will be returned by SpaceX spacecraft in February next year. The first manned flight of Starliner ended in failure, while SpaceX remains the only company using launch rockets to help American astronauts travel to and from the International Space Station
The U.S. government had hoped to rely on Boeing to develop its manned spacecraft business to reduce its dependence on SpaceX. However, Boeing's spacecraft proved unreliable, forcing astronauts stranded in space to "carpool" back to Earth on SpaceX's spacecraft.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently announced that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were sent to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's Starliner in June this year, will not return to Earth on the same spacecraft. Instead, they will continue their work as part of the Expedition 71/72 mission on the International Space Station until February next year, when they will be brought back to Earth by SpaceX's Crew-9 mission spacecraft.
NASA's image above shows the two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, from the Boeing spacecraft, taking a photo together on the International Space Station on June 13 this year.
This decision means that due to a series of technical issues with Starliner, the two American astronauts had to stay in space for eight months. They departed on June 5, originally scheduled to stay in space for 80 days. However, due to Starliner's malfunctions, their return was first delayed to July and then postponed multiple times.
NASA's decision not to have Starliner bring back the astronauts also signifies that following a successful launch and docking with the International Space Station, the first manned flight of Starliner ended in failure, dealing a heavy blow to Boeing's aerospace business. Currently, NASA heavily relies on SpaceX for crucial space operations. SpaceX has been the only company in recent years to provide flight services for American astronauts to and from the International Space Station using launch rockets.
Some media outlets have pointed out that both SpaceX and Boeing have received orders worth billions of dollars from NASA for commercial spaceflight services for astronauts, with Boeing's order size at $4.2 billion and SpaceX's at $2.6 billion.
Carter Palmer, Chief Analyst of Space Systems at Forecast International, a market research company specializing in aerospace and defense, commented that NASA has always hoped for more than one cooperation option, but so far has not succeeded.
Some media reports have mentioned that SpaceX faces few competitors in launching manned rockets and small low-earth orbit satellites. Its CEO, Elon Musk, has been gaining increasing influence in the space sector, with his significant impact as a leader of SpaceX drawing attention. This year, he once again supported Trump's presidential campaign, further raising concerns about his involvement in political issues