NASA has decided to rely on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft for its upcoming crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS). This decision comes on the heels of numerous setbacks experienced by Boeing’s Starliner program, most notably during its recent Crew Flight Test (CFT), which resulted in astronauts being stranded in space. This shift highlights NASA’s need for reliability in its commercial spaceflight operations.
SpaceX Takes Center Stage
With Boeing’s Starliner facing persistent challenges, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has emerged as a dependable alternative. NASA has plans for multiple SpaceX missions through Crew-14, part of a substantial $1.4 billion contract signed in 2022. The next mission, Crew-10, is slated for launch no earlier than February 2025.
Crew-10 will feature an experienced team, including NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian astronaut Kirill Peskov. This crew will replace the current Crew-9 members, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, who have been stationed at the ISS since September 2023. Their return is also anticipated in February 2025, coinciding with the return of astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who remain on the ISS due to issues with Starliner.
Following Crew-10, Crew-11 is tentatively scheduled for no earlier than July 2025, with the crew still to be announced.
Uncertain Future for Starliner
The outlook for Boeing’s Starliner program is increasingly murky. Originally seen as a strong contender to complement SpaceX’s offerings, Starliner has stumbled, particularly during its most recent crewed mission, the CFT in June 2024. The spacecraft encountered serious technical difficulties, including thruster failures and helium leaks, leading to a prolonged stay at the ISS as mission teams debated the best course of action.
Ultimately, the decision was made to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon, further complicating Boeing’s quest for certification. NASA had anticipated that Starliner would be operational by early 2025, but ongoing issues have pushed those timelines back. NASA has stated, “The timing and configuration of Starliner’s next flight will be determined once a better understanding of Boeing’s path to system certification is established,” leaving the future of the spacecraft uncertain.
Starliner’s Ongoing Struggles
Since its inception, Boeing’s Starliner has faced a series of setbacks. The spacecraft was developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, designed to foster competition for crew transport services to the ISS. While SpaceX has successfully completed nine crewed missions, Boeing has struggled to meet its objectives. Starliner’s initial uncrewed flight in 2019 was thwarted by a software glitch that prevented it from reaching the ISS, necessitating a second uncrewed flight in 2022 that also faced issues.
Despite hopes that the CFT would finally demonstrate Starliner’s readiness for operational missions, technical failures have left Boeing reeling.
Boeing’s Future Prospects
Boeing’s Starliner program is now at a critical juncture. Initially awarded a $4.3 billion contract as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the company has yet to deliver a working spacecraft. The upcoming Starliner-1 mission, set for 2025 with astronauts Scott Tingle, Mike Fincke, and Joshua Kutryk, may require a second crewed test flight before it can proceed, pending successful resolution of the spacecraft’s issues.
NASA officials remain cautiously optimistic, emphasizing the need to evaluate the CFT results to determine the way forward for Boeing and Starliner.
SpaceX’s Successful Track Record
In contrast to Boeing’s struggles, SpaceX has excelled under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Since its first crewed flight in 2020, the company has launched multiple successful missions to the ISS, solidifying its reputation as a reliable partner for NASA.
The recent Crew-9 mission, which launched in September 2023, is a testament to SpaceX’s capabilities. It successfully carried a smaller crew to make space for Wilmore and Williams, who are expected to return to Earth in February 2025.
With Crew-10 set to be SpaceX’s 10th operational astronaut flight, NASA’s confidence in the company remains high, particularly as it navigates Boeing’s ongoing challenges with Starliner.
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