Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, have been stranded on the International Space Station since June after issues were discovered with their Boeing-made Starliner spacecraft that was supposed to return them to Earth after an 8-day mission.
Boeing and NASA are testing to see if the Starliner is safe to return the astronauts, but are also considering alternatives due to risks. One option being looked at is having the astronauts return on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft already docked at the ISS.
However, the Dragon is limited to 4 passengers and the astronauts’ Starliner space suits are not compatible with the Dragon. They would have to return without suits, which is not dangerous but offers less protection.
The differing suit designs between Starliner and Dragon result from NASA giving commercial companies like Boeing and SpaceX more freedom in development as long as broad safety requirements are met.
Other options include sending the astronauts back on a different Dragon arriving in September after undocking the problematic Starliner, but Boeing says the Starliner may not be able to undock autonomously as needed.
The stranded mission has turned what was supposed to be a weeklong trip into a potential 8 month stay on the ISS for the astronauts while NASA evaluates the best return plan.
Source: Fortune
