Two astronauts may remain stranded on the International Space Station after their Boeing spacecraft failed for much longer than expected due to incompatibility with their spacesuits.
NASA told Fox News Digital that Boeing’s spacesuits are designed to work with the company’s spacecraft, while SpaceX’s spacesuits are designed to work with its Dragon spacecraft, which NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may ride on their way back to Earth.
The astronauts arrived in the Starliner on June 5 and were only supposed to stay there until the middle of the month.
Authorities are discussing how to get them home safely after discovering helium leaks and propulsion problems.
The astronauts are “very familiar” with the International Space Station, said Ross D. Loesch, head of NASA’s Safety and Mission Assurance Division. The Starliner test flight was the third mission to the International Space Station for each of them.
As space becomes increasingly commercialized, NASA is no longer as deeply involved as it once was in every aspect of mission and spacecraft design.
As a result, incompatibility between the spacesuits designed by SpaceX and Boeing reportedly led to problems returning Wilmauer and Williams to Earth.
“Boeing’s spacesuit is designed to work with the Starliner spacecraft, and SpaceX’s spacesuit is designed to work with the Dragon spacecraft. Both suits are designed to fit each spacecraft individually,” NASA told Fox News Digital.
NASA has not confirmed whether this problem affects the astronauts’ return.
Fox News Digital has also reached out to Boeing about this issue.
On Saturday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and agency leaders will hold an internal review of test flight preparations for Boeing’s test flight. During the review, “any formal disagreements will be presented and resolved,” NASA said.
NASA is scheduled to host a live press conference after the test at 1 p.m. from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The decision to return the Starliner spacecraft to Earth with astronauts on board is expected to be made on Saturday at the latest.
According to NASA’s website, if the decision is made to return Starliner to Earth without a crew, Wilmore and Williams will remain on the space station until late February 2025.
NASA then plans for SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission to have just two crew members, instead of four, fly to the space station in September, with Wilmore and Williams returning to Earth with the two-person crew early next year.