NASA Fears Another Tragedy If Astronauts Return on Starliner

[Judi Lynn]

1. NASA Clown Car Plan Would Stuff Extra Astronauts Into SpaceX Capsule to Avoid Return Journey in Disastrous Boeing Starli

NASA Clown Car Plan Would Stuff Extra Astronauts Into SpaceX Capsule to Avoid Return Journey in Disastrous Boeing Starliner

NASA is willing to get creative.

Aug 8, 8:35 AM EDT by Victor Tangermann

NASA still hasn't decided whether to send its two stranded astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, back from the International Space Station on board Boeing's plagued Starliner. The pair's trip to the orbital outpost has repeatedly been extended thanks to glaring technical issues affecting Starliner's propulsion system.

For now, NASA is keeping all of its options open as it studies several contingency plans. Perhaps the most discussed plan is to have Wilmore and Williams return on board SpaceX's Crew-9 spacecraft early next year.

But in case things didn't go according to plan, NASA has also been considering a far more eccentric option: stuffing Wilmore and Williams into SpaceX's already fully occupied Crew-8 spacecraft, which delivered a crew of four to the ISS in early March and is still currently docked to the ISS alongside the troubled Starliner.

"We have a task order in place to allow up to three crew members on the cargo pallet using the foam configuration in the Crew-8 Dragon," the head of NASA's commercial crew program Steve Stich revealed during a conference call today.

More:
https://futurism.com/nasa-stuff-extra-astronauts-spacex-starliner