A fiery explosion on a Space X rocket this week could mean even more misery for two NASA astronauts stranded in space.
The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket failed to land successfully after launching satellites into space and burst into flames before tipping onto its side.
This is bad news for the two astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for nearly three months by Boeing’s faulty Starliner.
Their only hope is to return to Earth in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which will launch using Falcon 9 rockets and is supposed to take them home in February 2025.
But the latest setback threatens to push that date back even further.
A complete timeline of Boeing’s Starliner program, from the announcement of its mass outreach to the incident that left two astronauts stranded aboard the ISS.
The FAA now has to launch an investigation into what went wrong with the Falcon 9, which could interfere with SpaceX’s rescue mission schedule and ultimately significantly delay Crew Dragon’s launch date.
According to the agency’s website, “Depending on the circumstances, some accident investigations could be completed in a matter of weeks. Other, more complex investigations could take several months.”
Additionally, SpaceX plans to use Falcon 9 to launch the Crew Dragon spacecraft, meaning the Starliner crew’s return to Earth depends on the rocket actually working.
But recent technical problems with the rocket suggest a successful launch in September is not exactly guaranteed.
The worst-case scenario — a lengthy FAA investigation followed by more problems with the Falcon 9 — could further delay Crew Dragon’s launch.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore launched toward the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5.
The scandal-plagued Starliner — which was built and developed using more than $4 billion in taxpayer money — was plagued by helium leaks and propellant problems in the weeks leading up to launch, and even on the day of.
The spacecraft safely transported Williams and Wilmore to the ISS, but by the time it arrived there it had suffered more helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters had failed.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was plagued by technical problems even before its launch on June 5. NASA ultimately deemed it unsafe to return its crew to Earth.
Williams and Wilmore were originally scheduled to spend just eight days on the ISS, but technical problems with their spacecraft have left them stranded there for nearly three months.
At a press conference on August 24, NASA officials announced that it would be too risky to bring astronauts home on the faulty Starliner.
Instead, they will return home on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch two private astronauts to the ISS on Sept. 24.
This means that Williams and Wilmore will remain on the ISS until at least February 2025.
The decision was humiliating for Boeing, which had struggled for years to get its Starliner program off the ground until it was bailed out at the last minute by its biggest competitor.
“We’ve been through so many embarrassing situations lately that we’re under a microscope. This has just made it a hundred times worse,” one employee anonymously told the New York Post.
“We hate SpaceX,” he added. “We talk shit about them all the time and now they’re bailing us out.”
At this time, it is unclear whether Starliner will ever be able to complete a crewed mission to the ISS.
NASA is planning to decommission the ISS in 2030, which would give Boeing just five years to fix Starliner’s technical problems and successfully send astronauts to and from space.
To put this into perspective, it’s been five years since Starliner’s first failed uncrewed test flight.
But Boeing may retire Starliner before that deadline is reached, as the company has already invested $1.6 billion in developing the spacecraft.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 burst into flames in a landing accident that occurred after a launch that carried 21 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. The FAA plans to investigate the incident
The Falcon 9 rocket failed after a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Wednesday as part of a mission to send 21 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. This was the rocket’s 23rd launch.
The launch went off without a hitch and the rocket was able to separate from the upper stage before heading back to Earth. But it was all downhill from there.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket failed to properly land on its intended target: an unmanned drone ship dubbed ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’
Instead, the rocket burst into flames and then fell on its side.
Although the mission was an overall success, the Federal Aviation Administration has suspended any further Falcon 9 launches until the cause of the accident is determined.
“The return to flight of the Falcon 9 rocket is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the anomaly does not affect public safety,” FAA officials said in a written statement.
The launch of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission (pictured) has been delayed indefinitely pending an FAA investigation into a Falcon 9 landing accident
The Polaris Dawn mission crew includes (from left) billionaire Jared Isaacman, SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, and Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Poteet.
This is the second time the FAA has grounded the Falcon 9 in the past two months.
The agency halted Falcon 9 launches for two weeks in July after one of the rocket’s upper stage liquid oxygen tanks leaked, preventing a batch of satellites from deploying properly and causing them to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
It’s unclear how long this new investigation will last. In the meantime, a crew of four SpaceX astronauts awaits the launch of the Polaris Dawn mission, in which the Falcon 9 will carry them into orbit for five days.
The mission, funded and crewed by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, is expected to make history by reaching higher altitudes than humans have traveled since NASA’s Apollo program in the 1970s and conducting the first commercial spacewalk.
Life on board the ISS is very cramped and astronauts Barry Wilmore (left) and Sunita Williams (right) will endure another six months on board.
But the launch of Polaris Dawn has already been delayed several times due to adverse weather conditions and technical problems. It was originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday.
Friday would have been the earliest Polaris Dawn could launch, but the FAA investigation has put the mission in limbo.
As for the stranded Starliner crew, they’ll just have to wait for the FAA investigation to continue and for the Falcon 9 to successfully launch the Crew Dragon mission in September.
Meanwhile, Boeing’s Starliner is set to return to Earth uncrewed on Sept. 6, according to NASA.
NASA officials have reported that the astronauts are “doing well” and are keeping busy with daily tasks and scientific experiments.
But it’s plausible they’re feeling some frustration after a mission that was supposed to last about a week turned into an eight-month nightmare.