NASA and SpaceX Join Forces to Rescue American Astronauts
US media reported last Saturday that NASA has decided to bring back American astronauts stranded at the International Space Station using a SpaceX spacecraft early next year.
The Starliner spacecraft, manufactured by Boeing, had transported astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams to the International Space Station in early June. Initially scheduled to return to Earth after eight days, problems detected in its propulsion system led NASA to doubt its ability to complete the mission. The US space agency is therefore seeking a radical and urgent solution consisting of returning the crew within a few months, via a regular SpaceX mission.
Boeing and NASA teams have been conducting tests for weeks to understand the root cause of the problems encountered by Starliner, particularly with its engines.
It should be noted that in 2014, NASA asked Boeing and SpaceX to build new spacecraft to transport its astronauts to the International Space Station, in order to have an additional means of transportation to better manage potential emergencies. SpaceX has significantly outperformed Boeing, and its spacecraft have been flying space missions for four years.
