Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which failed on a mission and was delayed in space for four months, has finally returned to Earth. Although the capsule was crewless, it wasn’t completely empty. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams left their spacesuits aboard the spacecraft. The decision was made because these spacesuits would no longer be needed and to clear space aboard the ISS.
Last month, NASA announced that astronauts would not be returning on Starliner due to technical problems. Instead, they will be evacuated aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which requires other spacesuits that are completely incompatible with the Starliner.
Boeing and SpaceX have created radically different spacesuits that are incompatible with each other due to differences in their design and interaction with equipment. Even if NASA decided to transport the astronauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon in case of an emergency, their spacesuits would not be able to connect to the SpaceX spacecraft’s systems, putting the crew’s lives at risk.
NASA deliberately asked the two companies to develop different systems to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station. But now, with the Starliner’s future in doubt, there’s a possibility that the agency will keep only the Crew Dragon spacecraft for flights.
The return of the spacesuits symbolizes the failure of the test flight. Boeing admitted that the result was unexpected, but the company supports NASA’s decision and is proud of its team’s work. The landing of the spacecraft was the end of a bad period for Boeing filled with bad news. Company executives didn’t participate in the post-landing press conference.
Despite this, many questions remain about the future of Boeing’s spacecraft. NASA believes the spacecraft will fly again, but Boeing’s silence raises doubts.
We previously reported on how NASA admitted disagreements with Boeing over the Starliner.
According to futurism.com
