Stranded Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Could Get 'Vapourised' On Return Mission: Report

NASA is currently mulling over whether to continue relying on faulty Starline or go with Space X to ensure the safe return of stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were only supposed to be on the International Space Station for eight days, have been stranded in space for months due to a fault with Boeing's spacecraft. The two launched on Boeing's Starliner on June 5. Their return to Earth could be even more terrifying.

A fault with the capsule's thrusters means they've been stuck there for over two months, and NASA stated they might not return until February next year. Thrusters play a critical role in propelling the craft through space. According to a Daily Mail report, NASA is currently mulling over whether to continue relying on faulty Starline or go with Space X to ensure the safe return of the two astronauts. 

What Options Does NASA Have?

The international space agency is now deciding whether to continue with the faulty Starliner or launch a rescue mission using SpaceX's rival ship. 

Challenges And Scenarios

Former Space System Commander in the US military, Rudy Ridolfi, elaborated on three scenarios that could play out if they choose to go with the Starliner. According to the Daily Mail report, a worst-case scenario would see the crew burning up inside the capsule upon reentry.

If NASA does choose to persist with Starliner, Williams, and Wilmore could vaporise upon reentry of Earth's orbit or be stuck floating in space.

Starliner's problems lie in the service module, which is like the control center for the entire ship. It contains systems that control the thrusters, power, as well as water and oxygen for the occupants. The module is located at the bottom of the capsule and is also critical for aligning the craft for reentry before it jettisons away before reentry.

The service module must put the capsule at an angled altitude for it to re-enter Earth. If the angle is off, the craft would bounce off the atmosphere and leave NASA scrambling to locate it in orbit. If the angle is too steep, there’s more friction and a greater chance of burning up in the atmosphere, vaporising the occupants.

In case the angle is too shallow, the spacecraft could bounce off the atmosphere and be catapulted back into space like a stone across a pond. “So long as the capsule is lined up correctly for reentry, everything's fine,” Ridolfi said, as quoted by Dailymail. 

“[If the capsule is not lined up], they either burn up or bounce back into space,” he said. “If the Starliner Service Module places the capsule in too steep of a reentry window, then the capsule ablative heat shield would probably fail,” he added. 

Five thrusters encountered failure during the 24-hour journey that took the two astronauts to the ISS back in June. A major concern is that more thrusters could fail on the return leg, which can leave the two astraubnauts floating in limbo, somewhere between the ISS and Earth, according to the Daily Mail report. 

Depending upon the amount of oxygen and power capabilities that Starliner has, the crew would have about 96 hours to revive the thrusters and land back on Earth. It needs to be determined which thrusters have malfunctioned with hopes of sealing them and still have enough resources to spend a few hours travelling home. 

Ridolfi further elaborated that there is a possibility that the spacecraft does make it to Earth even in this scenario. It would be possible if the thrusters and helium leaks do not persist, but then that would require the service module to work perfectly.

But in a worst-case scenario, NASA could be forced to send a rescue craft to the Starliner ship to retrieve the two astronauts. 

Space Docking Mission

The space docking mission, although possible, has only been performed once in human history to rescue an unmanned craft. 

In 1966, Gemini VIII launched with astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott to conduct the first docking of an Agena target vehicle.

“NASA knows how to do this, but it just takes time. If Starliner bounces off the atmosphere, they have to locate it. You can get a general guess of where it is, but you have to start taking radar, optical observations and calculate the orbit that it's now in. So that could probably take about 180 minutes, call it three hours,” Ridolfi said, as quoted by Daily Mail.

The feat would be accomplished by attaching a tunnel-like structure that would latch onto Starliner's hatch, allowing it to be opened without harming the astronauts. However, Ridolfi said that once Starliner is located, NASA would have to train another team of astronauts to perform the space docking mission.