Trapped Among the Stars. NASA's Urgent Mission to Rescue Its Astronauts
Just hours ago, NASA officially announced its inability to bring two astronauts back to Earth after they became stranded in space for the first time. During NASA’s official press conference, its technological and historical reputation was essentially destroyed.
Now, NASA finds itself at the mercy of Elon Musk, who could potentially prevent the astronauts from returning simply by refusing to offer help. If this happens, NASA would be forced, for the first time, to seek assistance from Russia, which could signal the end of NASA’s dominance forever.
Now imagine going on an eight-day space mission with enough food, water, and supplies to last just that period, only for the mission to suddenly extend from eight days to eight months. To make matters worse, the astronauts on this mission are elderly, and simply being in space poses a serious risk to their lives from the start.
- Astronauts Sunita Williams aged 58, and Barry Wilmore, who is currently 61, may become the first two humans in history to be lost in space with no hope of returning to Earth again.
- After their spacecraft malfunctioned and no means of returning them has been found, it seems like we are witnessing a scenario straight out of a movie, but this time it’s happening for real.
Elon Musk and SpaceX. NASA’s Only Hope for Bringing Astronauts Back
The big question now is: What will NASA and Elon Musk do to bring them back to Earth? Will the astronauts be able to survive the harsh environment of space, including cosmic radiation, zero gravity, and the lack of food, water, and even oxygen? All of this and more will be revealed in this article.
First, let’s agree that today’s NASA is not the same as it was in the past during the Apollo missions that landed on the moon. Back then, NASA was the one building spacecraft, training astronauts, and fully planning every mission. At that time, NASA had full control over everything related to space, including lunar missions and missions to the solar system.
However, with many private companies entering the space industry, such as SpaceX, Boeing, and even Blue Origin, NASA has started outsourcing their complete services to provide solutions at lower costs, since it no longer has the massive budget it once had decades ago.
As a result, in 2014, NASA decided to hold a competition among various private companies to design the most advanced spacecraft to transport astronauts from Earth to the International Space Station and later to the moon. SpaceX won the contract with NASA, valued at $2.6 billion. At the same time, Boeing also secured a contract with NASA worth $4.2 billion, and both companies were able to build spacecraft in the form of capsules specifically designed for this mission.Despite the limited financial support SpaceX received, Elon Musk’s incredible persistence to be the best and gain more support from NASA paid off. In 2020, SpaceX became the first company to transport astronauts from Earth to the International Space Station using a spacecraft called the Dragon Capsule, which is considered the most advanced spacecraft to date.
During this period, NASA started becoming concerned about the money it had invested in Boeing, as the company had yet to produce any spacecraft to transport astronauts as agreed upon nearly 10 years ago.
The Failed Starliner Mission. How It All Went Wrong
Fearing it might lose NASA’s financial support, Boeing decided in 2024 to design and announce its first spacecraft and launch it into space and the International Space Station, naming it the Starliner capsule. Unfortunately, this is the very capsule that caused the entire issue, leading to the loss of two astronauts and their inability to return to Earth.
So, what exactly happened? Engineers advised that if the capsule was working, it should be left as it is, without interference. Pilots Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams were chosen to be the first astronauts to test the new spacecraft, even though it was the first live test of the capsule, and it had not been tested empty beforehand, as SpaceX typically does.
On the day of the first launch, things took a strange turn when the capsule completely failed to lift off from the launch platform in May during the first attempt. The mission was postponed due to an issue with the pressure valve in the launch vehicle.- Boeing decided to attempt the second launch in early June, just the following month. Strangely, it was postponed again due to a malfunction in the system responsible for launch control and sequencing.
- Finally, on June 5, 2024, the awaited day arrived, and the Starliner capsule launched from Cape Canaveral with two astronauts onboard. Unfortunately, they did not know it would be the last time they would see daylight or breathe Earth's air for months to come.
- What was even more surprising was that the engineers noticed a helium gas leak from the capsule, which directs fuel to the propulsion systems during launch.
- This meant that the Starliner capsule had indeed launched, and there was no turning back. The capsule was now heading into space, but five of its 28 engines had completely failed.
- What the engineers didn’t realize was that the failure of those five engines would cause a significant problem when docking with the International Space Station later. And that’s exactly what happened.
However, since the astronauts were highly skilled pilots, they managed to manually dock the spacecraft, bypassing the automatic systems, and successfully reached the International Space Station. They were hopeful that they would only stay there for eight days before returning to Earth.
At this point, a terrifying message arrived from NASA's ground control center to astronauts Barry and Sunita, saying, "Stay at the International Space Station. Your return to Earth has been postponed indefinitely due to the failure of your Starliner spacecraft."
Health Risks in Space. Aging Astronauts Face Deteriorating Conditions
- This marked the beginning of panic for both astronauts, Barry and Sunita, and even for those already on the International Space Station.
- As of now, they’ve been stranded for nearly 80 days with no hope of returning to Earth. Water, food, and even the oxygen they have with them are considered insufficient to sustain them in the future.
- When astronauts travel to the ISS, they bring the exact amount of air, water, and food needed based on the number of crew members. The air is then recycled for reuse.
NASA started working on a plan, but after many long meetings between engineers, scientists, and NASA leaders, spanning several weeks, they decided to announce the final decision at a press conference by the end of August.
They were left with two options: either attempt to repair the spacecraft by following the instructions of Boeing's engineers who designed and built the Starliner capsule a solution that seemed unlikely, as it would require advanced equipment that is not currently available on the ISS, or find an alternative solution.
Or they could resort to the second option, which would destroy NASA's reputation globally turning to Elon Musk and his company, SpaceX. This would mean canceling the contract with Boeing and removing the company entirely from the picture, which is likely what will happen.
NASA Turns to SpaceX. A New Hope Amidst the Astronaut Crisis
NASA finally decided to return the Starliner capsule from the ISS to Earth, completely empty, without any astronauts. This is because the capsule is designed to survive in space for a maximum of 90 days, and they now have less than 10 days before that limit is reached.
This forced NASA to officially turn to SpaceX, which is planning a mission in September with four astronauts bound for the ISS. NASA is now considering reducing the number of astronauts from four to two to free up two spots for Sunita and Barry, so they can return to Earth at the end of SpaceX's mission in February 2025.
- In other words, the astronauts won’t be returning to Earth until next year, which means about six more months from today.
- The question now is: Can Barry and Sunita really endure life in the zero-gravity environment of the ISS given their advanced age?
- This is the very issue that’s causing NASA significant concern right now. The space environment they are in is filled with cosmic radiation and charged particles coming from the sun.
- Moreover, in the absence of gravity and as humans age, conditions like bone loss begin to develop, along with deteriorating eyesight, which has already started affecting Sunita.
- This means that every additional second Barry and Sunita spend in space only increases the health issues they’ll face once they return to Earth, putting NASA in an unprecedented situation.
Imagine that this entire problem is happening just 400 km above us. Despite the technological advances we see around us in all fields, we still can’t solve this relatively simple problem occurring directly overhead. It shows how humanity is still in the early stages of preparing for life among the stars. So, will NASA manage to bring the astronauts back soon or not?
