A significant concern has arisen in the field of space exploration in the recent weeks concerning the return journey of two NASA astronauts from the International Space Station. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who embarked upon the inaugural mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, sparked a political controversy. Both SpaceX’s Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump raised concerns alleging that the Biden administration delayed the return of these astronauts.
Currently, these astronauts are still in orbit since NASA concluded it would be safer for them to not return aboard their faulty Starliner spacecraft. Instead, NASA opted for a SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for the astronauts’ return. ‘The president prompted us to expedite the astronauts’ return, which has been outrageously delayed,’ Musk stated. ‘The astronauts were stranded in space,’ Trump echoed. ‘For political purposes, they were left out there, and that’s not favorable,’ Musk elaborated.
Subsequently, Andreas Mogensen, a Danish astronaut, challenged Musk’s allegations, claiming Musk was spreading false information. Musk however, countered Mogensen confidently, saying, ‘I offered to bring them back several months earlier directly to the Biden administration which, for political reasons, declined. The delay was politically influenced. Unbelievable.’ Responding to this controversy, NASA remained tight lipped.
The true answer to this situation rests within the human spaceflight programs at NASA. The cancellation of a news briefing last month only heightened the mystery around the issue. However, a media teleconference was finally held on Friday evening, featuring NASA officials Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate, and Steve Stich, the manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which overlooks the Starliner and Crew Dragon flights.
Musk’s allegations hold two main propositions. Firstly, SpaceX had proposed to return Wilmore and Williams from the International Space Station last year to the Biden administration, which was declined due to ‘political’ reasons. Secondly, Musk further stated that at Trump’s insistence, the process of bringing back Wilmore and Williams was expedited.
Likely, the astronauts will now return on Earth via the Crew 9 mission later this month. This mission is expected to be carried out approximately a week after the launch of a fresh group of astronauts to the space station. The Crew 10 mission is proposed to be launched on March 12, predicting that Wilmore and Williams may be back on Earth two weeks or so from now.
One has to consider if indeed Musk’s offer to accelerate their return was turned down due to political motives. Last year, on July 14, NASA contracted SpaceX to explore various ways to safely transport Wilmore and Williams back to Earth on a Crew Dragon vehicle. This was a contingency measure in case the Starliner was deemed unfit for travel.
Among the considered alternatives was to fly Wilmore and Williams back on the Crew 8 vehicle that was stationed at the International Space Station, which would require an unheard of six individuals to be in the capsule. Another option was for SpaceX to operate an autonomous flight of Dragon to the station and bring back Wilmore and Williams separately.
Bowersox shared in the Friday teleconference, ‘SpaceX provided us with multiple options for the emergency retrieval of Butch and Suni via Dragon. When it comes to launching extra missions or early capsule returns, those were always possibilities. But, we discarded them quite promptly based on our budgetary restrictions and the need to have crews on the International Space Station. The crews contribute significantly to the station’s maintenance.’
As a result, NASA launched the two-astronaut Crew 9 mission in September. Both Wilmore and Williams became part of that crew for a full six-month tenure on the space station. Does this denote the acceleration in the astronauts’ return was politically inspired?
Stich suggested that the decision to transition to Endurance happened towards the end of January, allowing the launch date to be expedited. When asked whether political influence was a contributing factor, Stich denied such allegations, ‘Several factors drove this decision, all of which had been under consideration even before the public statements made by the President and Mr. Musk,’ he clarified.
Bowersox concurred, adding that NASA valued the president’s interest in the space program. ‘I can vouch for the fact that Steve has been considering flight adjustments and capsule exchanges a good month before this issue was publicly discussed. However, the president’s enthusiasm certainly fueled the conversation,’ said Bowersox.