"(They are not) STRANDED In Space"

Ethan Wong

September 13, 2024  (Last Modified September 14, 2024)

The Starliner capsule returned to Earth last week without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. Okay, that was a poor opening sentence. Let’s rewind a bit. Back in June, NASA and Boeing launched Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams into space aboard the Starliner spacecraft, with their mission estimated to last no longer than 8 days. However, some issues arose with their space capsule upon docking to the ISS, and numerous testing had to be conducted to confirm the vehicle’s safety (and remedy the problems for future missions). As the duo waited to be sent home, drama and misinformation ensued, which worsened the situation. This article will briefly look at both these developments. 

One of the issues discovered after connecting with the ISS was that the Starliner spacecraft had multiple helium leaks. Consequently, a lack of an inert gas (in this case, helium) to move propellant around and properly pressurize the system can be problematic; oftentimes, these inert gases are essential for engine cooling or preventing unwanted reactions as well. The Starliner capsule additionally experienced lower levels of thrust, with NASA and Boeing finding 5 of the 28 reaction control system (RCS) thrusters to have malfunctioned aside from the helium gas leaks post-launch. While NASA found success with 80% of the failed thrusters, 1 still remained faulty. 

To identify what caused the RCS failures and helium leak, multiple tests were made both down on Earth and in space. After the flight, a research team at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico recreated the conditions of spaceflight that Starliner experienced, and utilized spare RCS thrusters to gauge what may have caused the thrusters to become problematic. The researchers simulated both ascent into docking with over 1000 pulses (short bursts of thrust, mimicking vehicle maneuvers) and a series of 500 pulses for undocking and descent toward Earth. The team found that such repeated pulsings of the RCS thrusters in combination with the spacecraft’s OMAC (orbital maneuvering and control) thrusters caused the “doghouses” of the RCS thrusters to overheat. These “doghouses” are simply a term used to describe the bay, or compartment that houses the thrusters. With overheating, NASA and Boeing believed that the thrusters' teflon seals were degraded, which created a blockage in the values for propellant supply and caused some thrusters’ outputs to lack their full potential. 

Other tests were done for the Starliner vehicle, including 100,000 computer simulations, investigated older designs of the capsule, and conducted an ISS-docked hot-fire test (run the thruster at full thrust to evaluate its performance) on 27 out of the 28 thrusters that were operating properly. One concern was that if some thrusters failed after undocking, the spacecraft might fail to distance itself from the ISS, leading to a potential collision threat (this would be dictated by orbit). Another concern was the helium leak. But throughout multiple months, NASA and Boeing continued measuring the leak. Furthermore, the helium situation was deemed minor, and not a threat to the astronauts (helium is safe for humans, and isn’t combustible). NASA had also confirmed that the Starliner spacecraft would've been safe to transport the astronauts back to Earth in an emergency situation, regardless of the helium leakage. 

But there were still arguments about the situation, mainly concerning the astronauts’ safety. Furthermore, if the spacecraft were to be returned, the service module would be jettisoned (detached) from the body before entering Earth, meaning the origin of the thrusters’ problems would be abandoned in space (dog houses are on the service module, for instance). Last week, the Starliner capsule returned to Earth without the astronauts. Until SpaceX’s Dragon capsule arrives in 2025, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will be assisting the current ISS crew in its research activities and regular maintenance. 

And how are the astronauts currently holding up? While news sources might label their current state as stranded or marooned, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are actually incredibly safe. They are currently doing work on the ISS, which is populated with other crew members, as well as a guaranteed and constant supply of food and water. But despite all of this, the internet has released titles such as “NASA Astronauts Stranded in Space” or “Lost in Space” or “Stuck in Space.” These headlines are incredibly misleading. In my opinion, being stranded in space is when astronauts are confined within a tiny capsule, with a diminishing oxygen supply, and limited food as they slowly near death. A common example is the Apollo 13 mission, in which they faced problems like needing to build a lithium hydroxide canister to absorb carbon dioxide…to not die. Williams and Wilmore are NOT in this situation. And with over 500 combined hours in space, whether conducting studies or going on spacewalks, space is not uncharted territory for either astronaut.

This event highlights the dangerous impact of a twisted narrative. Fake news, or even misleading headlines, can be detrimental to how space companies and anyone else involved is perceived by the public. While journalists obsess over attractive news stories for more clicks, the reputation of those involved becomes distorted. In actuality, Boeing and NASA made careful considerations and testing to guarantee their astronauts’ safety, as well as prevent such problems in the future. Meanwhile, two experienced astronauts were hit with unfortunate news, but are nevertheless safe, lending a hand to those already on the ISS. Ultimately, sculpting misleading information in a dramatic way for more views thins the line of trust between the uneducated public and corporations, such as Boeing.