Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), will not be returning home soon. In a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, August 24, NASA administrator Bill Nelson announced that the agency would not bring Wilmore and Williams back aboard their malfunctioning Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The Starliner, which has experienced thruster issues since its launch on June 5, will instead be flown back uncrewed. Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launching to the ISS in September for a five-month mission, returning in February. This extends their planned eight-day ISS mission to an extended stay of eight months.
“NASA has worked very hard with Boeing to reach this decision,” Nelson stated. “This decision is a result of a commitment to safety.”
The decision was based on a flight readiness review (FRR) conducted by NASA. As explained by agency officials in a previous news conference on August 14, FRRs are typically held before launches to assess mission readiness.
“We bring in representatives from all of the related centers, the technical authorities, the NASA engineering, and safety center flight operations,” explained Ken Bowersox, a former astronaut and associate administrator for NASA’s space operations mission directorate. “We listen to the status of the mission, go through some special topics, and then we poll everybody at the end on whether or not they think we’re ready to undertake the mission.”
In the past, a similar panel’s decision led to the tragic Challenger disaster. A final readiness review for the space shuttle Challenger was held on January 15, 1986, and the ship was cleared for launch. On January 28, just 73 seconds after launch, the ship exploded, killing all seven crew members. This tragedy, along with the Columbia disaster, where all astronauts perished on February 1, 2003, instilled a greater sense of caution in NASA.
“We did not have the governance structure that we have today with technical authorities,” said , chief of NASA safety and mission assurance, during the earlier press conference. “So at that time, the program managers pretty much had near-unilateral decision making. And so if there were views that maybe a path we were taking was not correct, there was really no strong additional authority to step in and say, ‘Wait a minute.’”
Today, FRRs are conducted even during missions, often referred to as mission risk acceptance forums. These panels aim to bring the rigorous scrutiny of an FRR to bear throughout a mission. NASA has been under pressure to make a decision regarding the Starliner’s issues, as the spacecraft’s batteries have a limited lifespan. If deemed unfit to carry the crew home, the ship would have to return empty.
The FRR that resulted in the decision not to bring Wilmore and Williams home on the Starliner was held on August 23, with Nelson actively involved. If dissenting opinions arise during the review, the decision first goes to , NASA associate administrator. Nelson then has the authority to intervene, which he did in this case.
Prior to the decision, there was a possibility that NASA might surprise the public and announce that the astronauts would be returning on the Starliner, but this was unlikely. NASA has a deep-rooted commitment to safety, dating back to the Apollo 1 tragedy, which claimed the lives of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee during a pre-launch test. Following this tragedy, legendary gathered NASA staff for a somber post-mortem.
“From this day forward, flight control will be known by two words: Tough and competent,” , chalking the words on a blackboard. “Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do. We will never again compromise our responsibilities. Competent means we will never take anything for granted. Mission Control will be perfect. When you leave this meeting today you will go to your office and the first thing you will do there is to write ‘tough and competent’ on your blackboards. It will never be erased. Each day when you enter the room, these words will remind you of the price paid by Grissom, White, and Chaffee. These words are the price of admission to the ranks of Mission Control.”
This commitment remains strong. NASA could have chosen to spare Boeing embarrassment by allowing the Starliner to return empty, potentially causing inconvenience to Wilmore and Williams. However, the agency prioritized safety, deciding not to risk the lives of the astronauts again.