“Greater Than 50-50 Chance”: SpaceX May Save Stranded Boeing Starliner Crew At ISS

Boeing’s crewed Starliner spacecraft mission to the International Space Station was initially expected to last just a few days, but it has stretched into weeks and now two months. 

The two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, have been stranded on the ISS following Starliner’s helium leaks and failing thrusters in early June.

NASA and Boeing have been working to resolve Starliner’s issues, but progress has been limited.

The big story here is that, after two months, Boeing has yet to publicly ask Elon Musk’s SpaceX for help. Optically, this would be a major blow to Boeing’s image, especially considering the series of mid-air mishaps involving its 737Max commercial jets. Additionally, it’s an election year for the Biden administration, which has been on a crusade against Trump and his supporters, but also is very anti-Musk. Any rescue mission by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is undesirable news flow for Democrats.

However, a new report from Ars Technica, citing various sources, indicates SpaceX could be publicly called up to save the day.  

Here’s more from Ars Technica:

For a long time, it seemed almost certain that the astronauts would return to Earth inside Starliner. However, there has been a lot of recent activity at NASA, Boeing, and SpaceX that suggests that Wilmore and Williams could come home aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft rather than Starliner.

The report continued:

One informed source said it was greater than a 50-50 chance that the crew would come back on Dragon. Another source said it was significantly more likely than not they would. To be clear, NASA has not made a final decision. This probably will not happen until at least next week. It is likely that Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator, will make the call.

On Thursday evening, NASA spokesperson Josh Finch told Ars, “NASA is evaluating all options for the return of agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station as safely as possible. No decisions have been made and the agency will continue to provide updates on its planning.” 

X users are wondering why the stranded Starliner story is not huge news. 

>>Boeing is not allowed to ask Elon to save them in an election year.

Really?

— zipjet (@zipjet) August 2, 2024

Would be hilarious if @elonmusk publicly offered to

— Wodanaz (@VWodanaz) August 2, 2024

Our government would rather sacrifice them instead of asking @elonmusk for help

— MGM (@M20GeM) August 2, 2024

Relax Boeing sending a 737 Max

— DCLawyer 🇺🇸🇮🇱⚖️✡️ (@Zuk_DC) August 2, 2024

Does anything built by @Boeing these days actually work without eventually failing or falling apart?

— Joseph Rizal (@jrizal1957) August 2, 2024

Imagine that… Trump’s wealthiest supporter could save the day on the ISS.

Where is Bezos’ rocket?