Boeing Starliner crew may not return to Earth until at least August – National & International News – THU 11Jul2024

Boeing Starliner crew may not return to Earth until at least August.

Also, Biden’s high stakes “big boy press conference” starting soon. Livestream link in story.

Boeing Starliner crew may not return to Earth until at least August

The two-person crew of the Boeing Starliner crew capsule is now 38 days into what was supposed to be an 8-day mission on the International Space Station. Reporting now has it that Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore may have to wait until August to return to earth-  and it’s possible they may not be returning on Starliner.

The first crewed mission of Starliner launched on June 5 after multiple delays due to thruster issues and helium leaks. The capsule experienced problems with both after launch, which delayed docking with the ISS for several hours.

Late last month, Boeing and NASA took exception to reporting in the press that Williams and Wilmore are “stranded” on the ISS. Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager declared, “Butch and Suni are not stranded in space”. Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and program manager of its Commercial Crew Program, said “It is pretty painful to read the things that are out there. We’ve gotten a really good test flight that’s been accomplished so far, and it’s being viewed rather negatively”.

A headline yesterday on the news that Williams and Wilmore may not return till August says it all: “Starliner astronauts are now ‘not stranded’ on ISS until at least August”.

How “not stranded” are they?

There are some questions still hanging out about whether the issue with the capsule is one that could potentially jeopardize Wilmore and Williams’ safe return home. Boeing and NASA insist that this is not the case and that they could return at any time. They insist the delay is not because the issues pose jeopardy to their return flight. According to them, they are simply taking the opportunity to “study” the thruster and helium leak issues while Starliner is docked at ISS because the thruster will jettison upon Starliner’s return to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere. However, they’re also doing testing Earthside on a specially built test module at the White Sands Testing Ground in New Mexico.

Statements from Williams and Wilmore don’t necessarily contradict NASA and Boeing’s story but do call it into question. In their first statements to the press since arriving on ISS, Suni Williams said: “I have a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home, no problem”. Meanwhile, Wilmore stated, “We trust that the tests that we’re doing are the ones we need to do to get the right answers, to give us the data that we need to come back”. Both statements are positive but seem to express optimism rather than certainty. said.

If all else fails, Wilmore and Williams could return to earth on a SpaceX capsule due to arrive in August. They could also return on a Russian Soyuz capsule that arrives in September.

All of this is another very public black eye for Boeing at a time when they could do without it. The company is estimated to have lost some $1.5 billion on the Starliner program already. This mission has also not covered Boeing in the glory needed to overtake SpaceX in the public-private spaceflight race.

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Stakes high for Biden’s “big boy press conference” today

President Biden is scheduled to hold a solo, unscripted, no-teleprompter press conference today at 6:30pm ET/5:30pm ET. Here’s a link where you can watch it live on YouTube via the Associated Press feed. If you’re planning to watch, be aware that Biden’s press conferences rarely start on schedule.

This is likely to draw a much bigger audience than your average Presidential presser, given a growing chorus of Democrats calling on Biden to step down as 2024 Presidential candidate after his often incoherent debate performance against Trump last month. The time chosen is also interesting since reporting indicates that these days, Biden is at his sharpest from 10am-4pm and becomes “more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued” after that time, as aides told Axios. 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre and national security spokesman John Kirby both referred to this as Biden’s “Big Boy” press conference recently. But even if Biden puts on a good showing tonight, it seems increasingly unlikely that this will not be enough to satisfy the doubters in his own party. 

Ultimately, it is up to Biden to “do the right thing” and end his re-election bid. The messaging from Democratic leaders so far has been that stepping down must be Biden’s decision. Pundits who have scrutinized recent statements from Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Jim Clyburn have suggested that Democratic Washington powerbrokers are signaling that they aren’t happy with Biden remaining in the race, but that they want to give Biden the space to make the decision on his own. 

However, there has been speculation that other plans may be afoot if Biden doesn’t step down willingly. The White House has been contacting delegates who will will officially choose the Democratic nominee, apparently worried about the possibility of a convention coup.

Interestingly, reports have it that the Biden campaign suspects former President Obama of quietly pulling the strings behind-the-scenes to try to force Biden out of the race.