Boeing now needs rival Elon Musk's help to rescue Sunita Williams

Boeing’s spacecraft has failed to bring back Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and fellow NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore to Earth due to technical glitches. According to a US media report, Boeing employees are feeling “embarrassed” over the fiasco.

This failure marks a setback for the American multinational, which has been under scrutiny following a series of accidents involving its commercial flights. The spaceship's failure is a major blow to the credibility of the aerospace giant.

8-day mission, now into months 

The Starliner space capsule experienced problems on its way to the International Space Station--including a helium leak and thruster malfunction, which have left the two astronauts stranded in space for months. The duo embarked on an eight-day mission to the International Space Station in June and are still awaiting rescue.

“We've had so many embarrassments lately; we're under a microscope. This just made it, like, 100 times worse,” a Boeing employee based in Florida told the media outlet. 

These comments came after NASA announced it would seek help from Boeing's competitor and Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, to bring back the two astronauts. The astronauts' return is now expected in February 2025. The employee added, “We hate SpaceX,” reported The Post. The employee felt humiliated and said, “We talk trash about them all the time, and now they’re bailing us out. It’s shameful. I’m embarrassed; I’m horrified.”

Boeing has stated that the issues with Starliner have been resolved, but the US space agency has decided to use SpaceX's Crew Dragon for the astronauts' return in February 2025 to avoid further risk.

“Boeing has worked very hard with NASA to get the necessary data to make this decision," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a press conference on Saturday at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston. He added, “We want to further understand the root causes and the design improvements needed so that the Boeing Starliner can serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS.” 

                                                (By arrangement with livemint.com)