Archive for the ‘Wait a Minute!’ Category
Glad to be on the January 10th episode of This Week In Space podcast: Episode 143 — King Starship – Will 2025 be SpaceX’s Game-Changing Year?
This episode comes fully-equipped with details on the upcoming flight of the SpaceX Starship on its 7th test flight…and what next? I join made-in-space colleagues, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik as we look into the space crystal ball.
Go to:
Are we moving closer to the day of “downing” Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), often tied to UFOs?
In the lexicon of what’s up in the sky that has become unidentifiable, there’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), and also “drones.”
Whatever is up with the wave of sky sightings, are there any lessons learned here to unravel today’s growing call for “Full Disclosure.”
That mantra is in vogue and encompasses super-secret U.S. aerial activity and hush-hush classified technology. Then there are the fighter jet pilots that have filmed UAP. And what about the far more traditional claim of close encounters with alien vehicles and even out-of-control crashes of flying saucers?
It’s a wait-a-minute moment for sure.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Dec. 19 briefing. Image credit: Senior Airman Madelyn Keech
Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs
Drone busters
Word is that counter drone systems have begun to be deployed in New Jersey, a hotbed of activity and public bewilderment. There have been a limited number of visual sightings of drones over military facilities in New Jersey and elsewhere, including within restricted air space.
The now in the field anti-drone gear exhibits active and passive detection capabilities as well as other capabilities, namely serving as “drone busters” that basically disrupt signals and affects the ability of these systems to fly.
That’s the word from Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon Press Secretary, during a December 19th press briefing.
Ryder said that the bottom line is that if our forces, our commanders observe UAS activity that they believe represents a threat, “they have the authority to conduct mitigation operations based on the capability at their location,” Ryder said. One of those capabilities, he added, could be the non-kinetic, interruption of signals, for example.
Harmonize efforts
Military personnel are going to protect and defend the nation, said Ryder, in order to protect facilities or mitigate potential threats.
Ryder said that U.S. military is working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as we as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to harmonize efforts.
Earlier in the week, the FAA noted that there are more than one million drones lawfully registered with the FAA in the United States. Moreover, there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones lawfully in the sky on any given day.
“With the technology landscape evolving, we expect that number to increase over time,” the FAA explained.
Sightings to date
Given more than 5,000 reported drone sightings in the last few weeks the federal government is supporting state and local officials in investigating a number of these reports.
“We have sent advanced detection technology to the region. And we have sent trained visual observers,” said the FAA.
Sightings to date, the FAA explained, “include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”
However, the FAA is urging Congress to enact counter-UAS legislation that would extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities to identify and mitigate any threat that may emerge.
Who you gonna call?
All of this is sure to fan the flames of Deep State secrecy, be it UFOs, UAPs, drones, UAV, and UAS.
Put in the blender that the government is here to help sort all this out.
Sure, the truth may be out there, but clearly there’s need for a reality check.
Mental musical recollection: “If there’s something strange in your neighborhood…if there’s something weird and it don’t look good…who you gonna call?”
What’s your view?
Stand by for NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and space agency leadership today to offer a briefing about the Artemis “re-booting” of the Moon campaign. The NASA news conference is at 1 p.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, Dec. 5, from the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Sure to be highlighted and brought up by heavy-breathing reporters is the current status of the Orion heat shield and reported “root cause” findings about the heat shield’s unexpected problems that cropped up during the uncrewed Artemis I mission in December 2022.
Participants in the briefing include:
- NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
- NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy
- NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
- Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander
- Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program Office, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate
Mars on the mind
Given the Moon to Mars NASA agenda, the current status of the space agency’s sample plan for the Red Planet is likely to be discussed.
Now in limbo and sanity check status due to budget-busting problems, along with how and when the robotic outing to Mars can be scheduled, the NASA/ESA Mars Sample Return (MSR) is in revision mode.
Industry, NASA and other agencies have been diving into MSR details of how to pull off the undertaking. Where this stands at the moment is likely to also be brought up during the press event.
Crosshairs and crossroads
Lastly, the recent National Academies study of NASA’s overall health may surface. The prestigious National Academies has taken a hard look at the NASA of today and what’s ahead.
That report was titled “NASA at a Crossroads: Maintaining Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology Preeminence in the Coming Decades.”
It details out-of-date infrastructure, pressures to prioritize short-term objectives, budget mismatches, inefficient management practices, and nonstrategic reliance on commercial partners are spotlighted as core issues needing attention.
So hold on tight and tune in via NASA+ at:
https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/nasa-artemis-campaign-leadership-news-conference/
Meanwhile, take a read of my past postings on these NASA issues:
Artemis II: Orion Heat Shield Issues – Decision Forthcoming
https://www.leonarddavid.com/artemis-ii-orion-heat-shield-issues-decision-forthcoming/
NASA at a Crossroads: Hard-hitting Report Flags Budget Woes, Aging Infrastructure, Hard Choices Ahead
Also, check out this just-out evolution of Mars exploration video at:
https://youtu.be/9rJ4vWDfiI8?si=CWPwMU-cPOK7LAVm

High-speed return from lunar distance, the thermal protection system of Orion’s crew module must endure blistering temperatures to keep crew members safe. Measuring 16.5 feet in diameter, Orion’s heat shield is the largest of its kind developed for missions carrying astronauts.
Image credit: NASA
NASA remains in an ongoing test mode to determine what’s behind the ablative thermal protective material that chipped away unexpectedly from the Artemis 1 Orion heat shield during its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere back on December 11, 2022.
The Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a 25.5-day mission.
During the high-speed, 25,000 miles per hour return from lunar distance, the thermal protection system of Orion’s crew module must endure blistering temperatures to keep crew members safe. Measuring 16.5 feet in diameter, Orion’s heat shield is the largest of its kind developed for missions carrying astronauts.
Root cause
But in a post-flight analysis of the Artemis 1 heat shield, NASA identified more than 100 locations where ablative thermal protective material was liberated during its speedy reentry.
Work to determine the root cause did conclude last summer, said NASA’s Lori Glaze Deputy Associate Administrator (Acting) Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
Speaking October 29 at the Annual Meeting of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group being held in Houston, Texas, Glaze did not say what root cause was uncovered.
However, Glaze said that additional testing is ongoing before any final determination is made. That testing will conclude by the end of November, then provided to NASA chief, Bill Nelson, for a final decision.

Arc Jet Complex at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley has been used to study unexpected heat shield issues found after Orion capsule’s Artemis I flight in 2022.
Image credit: NASA Ames Research Center
Artemis II
Meanwhile, NASA is moving forward on readying the Artemis II hardware to support hurling a four-person crew to sojourn out beyond the Moon, then return to Earth.
The Artemis II crew is to depart Earth no earlier than September 2025 on a 10-day trek.
In classic “wait a minute” style, a NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report was issued in May of this year – “NASA’s Readiness for the Artemis II Crewed Mission to Lunar Orbit” – calling attention to this issue and others before sending off the first human crew toward the Moon since 1972 – the Apollo 17 mission.
To ensure the safety of the crewed Artemis II mission, the OIG report recommended the Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate to ensure the root cause of Orion heat shield char liberation is well understood prior to launch of the Artemis II mission.
The OIG report called for analysis of Orion separation bolts using updated models that account for char loss, design modifications, and operational changes to Orion prior to the Artemis II launch.
The report by the NASA OIG also notes that “human space flight by its very nature is inherently risky, and the Artemis campaign is no exception. We urge NASA leadership to continue balancing the achievement of its mission objectives and schedule with prioritizing the safety of its astronauts and to take the time needed to avoid any undue risk.”

Engineers and technicians conduct inspections of the heat shield on the Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 11, 2022.
Image credit: NASA/Skip Williams
Avcoat changes
The heat shield features the same ablative material called Avcoat used in Apollo lunar outings and return-to-Earth missions. However, the building process has changed, according to Lockheed Martin that fashioned Orion’s thermal protection system.
“Instead of having workers fill 300,000 honeycomb cells one by one with ablative material, then heat-cure the material and machine it to the proper shape, the team now manufactures Avcoat blocks – just fewer than 200 – that are pre-machined to fit into their positions and bonded in place on the heat shield’s carbon fiber skin,” the aerospace firm’s website explains. That process is a timesaver in putting on the Avcoat – about a quarter of the time.
So here’s the lingering and nagging question: Is it possible that changes in the Avcoat may be needed? If so, that decision would seemingly necessitate de-coupling the heat shield from the Artemis II Orion capsule.
Heat shield hiccups
When the heat shield issue first came to light, Inside Outer Space contacted the Orion program office at NASA Johnson Space Center for comment regarding the heat shield hiccups.
“During Artemis I post-flight inspection, engineers observed variations of Avcoat material across the appearance of Orion’s heat shield. Some areas of expected charred material ablated away differently than computer modeling and ground testing predicted, and there was slightly more liberation of the charred material during re-entry than anticipated,” the program office stated.
“We expect the material to ablate with the 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit the spacecraft encounters on a re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, and to see charring of the material through a chemical reaction, but we didn’t expect the small pieces that came off, versus being ablated,” the NASA statements adds.
Healthy margin
“We don’t know yet exactly how much was liberated, which is why we’re analyzing the data, but there was a healthy margin remaining of virgin Avcoat, and temperature data inside the cabin remained at expected levels, so if crew were on board they would not have been in danger,” explains the program office statement.
“It’s still too early in our testing and analysis to arrive at any potential recommendations or solutions that address additional char liberation,” NASA responded. “It’s possible the phenomenon may just [be] part of what the heat shield is, and what we would expect as we return from the Moon, but we’ll let the data inform us.”
Lastly, the NASA Orion program office stated: “We’ll continue to protect for variations that could happen during re-entry as we want to ensure we have significant margin against the various types of uncertainties that might occur as the spacecraft re-enters the atmosphere. Our teams want the confidence that we have the best heat shield possible to fly humans going forward.”
In double-checking with the NASA Orion program office today, Inside Outer Space was advised “we have not made any decisions yet, but NASA will provide an update on our plans after the completion of the investigation, and we have determined a forward path.”
Earlier reporting
In earlier reporting, here’s my take on the situation, as posted on Space.com:
“NASA still investigating Orion heat shield issues from Artemis 1 moon mission” at:
https://www.space.com/nasa-investigate-orion-heat-shield-artemis-1-mission
For a full read of the NASA OIG report, go to:
https://oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ig-24-011.pdf
For an informative Lockheed Martin video on Orion’s re-entry, go to:
In case you missed this unidentified flying opportunity – there’s a disclosure movement underway!
Billed as a first-of-its-kind event, a wide range of speakers and specialists took part in “Global Disclosure Day” that was held on October 20.
The thrust of the occasion is that there’s a “major sea change” in the history of the UFO, now tied to the term (rightly or wrongly) as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or UAP.
“Up until very recently, the onus was on the movement to prove UFOs were real. Now, so much information has come out at such high levels of the U.S. Government that the burden is now on those who tried to keep UFOs a secret to prove that they are NOT real. We are in a new time,” contend event organizers at the New Paradigm Institute.
Global citizen action
Global Disclosure Day was convened in the spirit of Earth Day and seeks to celebrate UAP Disclosure and the importance of global citizen action on the subject at hand…and in the skies.
The video is worth a watch as it is a “Wait-a-Minute” rendezvous with the true-believer community, who’s who, and also I think sheds light on what’s still missing in all of this – specifically, more conversation about the consequences of contact in terms of active SETI projects contrasted to “they’re here” advocates.
Let me know what you think!
Go to:
In a new Wait-a-Minute report, the prestigious National Academies has taken a hard look at the NASA of today and what’s ahead.
For a space agency that has been a leader in exploring our planet and other worlds, it is in a world of hurt, the report suggests.
The report identifies out-of-date infrastructure, pressures to prioritize short-term objectives, budget mismatches, inefficient management practices, and nonstrategic reliance on commercial partners as the core issues.
That said, the report explains that NASA should rebalance its priorities and increase investments in its facilities, expert workforce, and development of cutting-edge technology, “even if it means forestalling initiation of new missions.”
As noted in an Academies press statement, “NASA’s portfolio is based on accomplishing things that have never been done before, but the environment in which the agency functions is complicated by several factors,” including:
- Rapid advancements in technology
- The need to compete for talent with the commercial space sector, other space agencies, and other high-tech sectors
- A declining federal discretionary budget and a flat agency budget (in terms of purchasing power)
- Lack of timely congressional authorization acts
- Shortfalls in the nation’s pre-K-12 education system
- Increasing competition in space from China

Astronauts explore lunar south pole crater. A water ice-rich resource ready for processing awaits?
Credit: NASA
Core findings
The committee offers seven “core findings” that, in its view, rise to the highest level of priority. They are:
Core Finding 1: NASA’s ability to pursue high-risk, long-lead science and technology challenges and opportunities in aeronautics, space science, Earth science, and space operations and exploration has arguably been the agency’s greatest value to the nation. Pursuit of such potentially transformative opportunities requires constancy of purpose, consistent long-term funding commensurate with the tasks it has been asked to undertake, a technically skilled workforce able to devote sustained effort to address challenging problems, and leading-edge equipment and supporting infrastructure that enable work at the cutting edge of science and engineering.
Core Finding 2: NASA faces internal and external pressures to prioritize short-term measures without adequate consideration of longer-term needs and implications. This produces adverse impacts on contracting, budgeting, funding, infrastructure, R&D, and execution of NASA’s mission portfolio. If left unchecked, these pressures are likely to result in a NASA that is incapable of satisfying national objectives in the longer term.
Core Finding 3: NASA’s budget is often incompatible with the scope, complexity, and difficulty of its mission work. The long-term impacts of this mismatch include erosion of capabilities in workforce, critical infrastructure, and advanced technology development. The current relative allocations of funding to mission work as compared with that allocated to institutional support has degraded NASA’s capabilities to the point where agency sustainability is in question.
Core Finding 4: NASA’s shift to milestone-based purchase-of-service contracts for first-of-a-kind, low-technology-readiness-level mission work can, if misused, erode the agency’s in-house capabilities, degrade the agency’s ability to provide creative and experienced insight and oversight of programs, and put the agency and the United States at increased risk of program failure.
Core Finding 5: Mission effectiveness across NASA is compromised by slow and cumbersome business operations that have been a consequence of legitimate efforts to increase efficiency and better coordinate complex tasks.

Artemis 2 crewmembers will cruise by the Moon during their mission, an eye-encounter of the lunar kind.
Image credit: NASA/Kennedy Space Center
Core Finding 6: Over the past decade, significant responsibilities and authorities for major programs previously delegated to the NASA center level have been shifting to the mission directorates. This may have potentially compromised checks and balances for a clear and independent technical oversight. While the optimum allocation of checks and balances can depend on the needs of a particular organization and mission, incorrectly establishing this balance can have extreme impacts.
To read the full and troublesome report — NASA at a Crossroads: Maintaining Workforce, Infrastructure, and Technology Preeminence in the Coming Decades – go to:
In a wait-a-minute moment, U.S. lawmakers are probing NASA leadership regarding the space agency’s cancellation of the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) project.
On July 17, 2024, NASA announced its decision to cancel the VIPER lunar craft.

Artwork depicts NASA’s VIPER, on the prowl for water and other resources.
Image credit: NASA Ames/Daniel Rutter
In a September 6 letter to NASA chief, Bill Nelson, science committee leaders have requested the space agency to provide detailed cost and schedule information regarding NASA’s proposed termination of VIPER.
Also requested is information regarding alternative options for the rover going forward, “including the option of proceeding with the launch and landing of VIPER on the Moon,” the letter states.
Investments made in VIPER
“We understand that the fiscal environment for NASA is challenging and that NASA must make difficult decisions when programs are significantly over budget and behind schedule,” the letter to NASA states.

The VIPER rover heading into the Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) Chamber for testing.
Image credit: Daniel Andrews/LinkedIn
“Given the investments made on VIPER to date, the status of the assembled and integrated rover, and the national importance of our civil and commercial lunar exploration activities, it is imperative that Congress fully evaluate NASA’s proposed decision to terminate VIPER,” the letter adds.
The full letter can be found here at:
Vacuum chamber
In the interim, VIPER recently entered thermal vacuum chamber testing to be completed by October.
The NASA decision to cancel the VIPER south pole Moon rover also stirred up lunar exploration advocates, prompting an open letter campaign to Congress requesting lawmakers to “refuse to authorize” the NASA verdict.
“The decision to cancel the mission was taken by NASA without giving the wider VIPER team or lunar exploration community an opportunity to propose cost-saving solutions or alternatives to the dismemberment or scrapping of the rover,” the open letter explains.
On ice
The south pole machinery was dedicated to — as NASA’s first mobile robotic mission to the Moon, directly analyze ice on the surface and subsurface of the Moon at varying depths and temperature conditions within four main soil environments.
VIPER-supplied data was slated to be used to create resource maps, helping scientists determine the location and concentration of ice on the Moon and the forms it’s in, such as ice crystals or molecules chemically bound to other materials.

A close-up view of the areas that were to be explored by VIPER, showing a nominal traverse route and highlighting permanently shadowed regions that may contain water ice and other volatiles.
Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright
VIPER’s projected landing site: the Nobile Region of the Moon’s south pole.
The rover is under the wing of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) and was built to scout about on the Moon for 100 Earth days, covering 3 cycles of lunar day and night.
Go to the NASA VIPER cancellation statement at:
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-ends-viper-project-continues-moon-exploration/
The open letter to Congress can be viewed at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeIUzsdEiT8cbt7YqYE1RdctvtMaflyh3bc2M9HnH0C0Wpzww/viewform
Go to my earlier story — “VIPER Bite Marks: NASA Moons a Lunar Rover” — at:
https://www.leonarddavid.com/viper-bite-marks-nasa-moons-a-lunar-rover/
NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, was cancelled on July 17 by the space agency.
But in a wait-a-minute and ready-to-roll mode the rover continues to inch its way forward.
Commercial/international partners may be selected to fly the moon machine to the lunar south pole. In addition, Congressional lawmakers are taking a budgetary hard-look at the situation, prodded in part, by a save VIPER letter-writing campaign involving 4,800-plus shoot-for-the-Moon supporters.

The VIPER rover heading into the Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) Chamber for testing.
Image credit: Daniel Andrews/LinkedIn
Vacuum chamber
In the interim, VIPER recently entered thermal vacuum chamber testing to be completed by October.
The NASA decision to cancel the VIPER south pole Moon rover continues to stir up lunar exploration advocates, with the open letter to Congress requesting lawmakers to “refuse to authorize” the NASA verdict.
The open letter can be viewed at:
https://forms.gle/bRzoLN5P66Ge2vzN9
At this point in time, NASA had put in $450 million into VIPER.
“Continuation of VIPER would result in an increased cost that threatens cancellation or disruption to other CLPS missions,” the space agency statement explains. “NASA has notified Congress of the agency’s intent.” CLPS IS NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.

A close-up view of the areas that were to be explored by VIPER, showing a nominal traverse route and highlighting permanently shadowed regions that may contain water ice and other volatiles.
Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright
Go to the NASA VIPER cancellation statement at:
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-ends-viper-project-continues-moon-exploration/
Partnership opportunity
NASA said it’s planning to disassemble and reuse VIPER’s instruments and components for future Moon missions.
Prior to disassembly, NASA’s open to expressions of interest from U.S. industry and international partners for use of the existing VIPER rover system at no cost to the government.
Go to the VIPER Rover Partnership Opportunity request at:
https://sam.gov/opp/ccc3285133aa4dbd877b9dcb53fab99c/view
Wait a Minute!
Image credit: Barbara David
The high drama of a “stranded” Starliner two-person crew needing “rescue” comes to a head in a wait-a-minute weekend.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and leadership will hold an internal Agency Test Flight Readiness Review on Saturday, Aug. 24, for NASA’s beleaguered Boeing Crew Flight Test.
Right after that top leadership gathering, about an hour later, NASA will host a live news conference at 1 p.m. Eastern Time from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams, wearing Boeing spacesuits, wave to viewers in pre-launch photo.
Image crrdit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Technical challenges
Both NASA and Boeing experts, as well as safety-of-flight gurus have assessed data. That information has been gathered both in space and on the ground, focused on issues that cropped up with the Starliner’s propulsion and helium systems “to better understand the ongoing technical challenges,” explains NASA.
During Starliner’s flight to the space station, some of the spacecraft’s thrusters did not perform as expected. Furthermore, several leaks were observed in Starliner’s helium system.
“The review will include a mission status update, review of technical data and closeout actions, as well as certify flight rationale to proceed with undocking and return from the space station,” NASA adds.
Abandon in place?
But will astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams be onboard the Starliner for a projected land touchdown?
Now safely tucked inside the International Space Station, the twosome were launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5 for a projected 8 day mission.
There’s chatter about use of the SpaceX Dragon to retrieve the astronauts. But that “abandon in place” decision for the duo means they’d stay put on the ISS until late February of next year.
NASA would replan the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission by launching only two crew members instead of four in late September.
Wilmore and Williams would then return to Earth after the regularly scheduled Crew-9 increment early next year.
If that’s the path they’ll need SpaceX space suits; the Boeing Starliner space suits are not compatible with the Dragon spacecraft.
Auto-piloting
Also in the decision mix is returning Starliner to Earth on auto-pilot mode, empty of crew next month. Doing so means uploading new software into Starliner for re-entry and a parachute landing, perhaps in New Mexico.
So, once again, it’s high drama on the high seas of space.
Early musings
For some early musings about this simple twist of fate flight, go to:
Return of Starliner: Doghouse Deliberations
https://www.leonarddavid.com/return-of-starliner-doghouse-deliberations/
Starliner’s Saga: Tuning in the “Uncertainty Band”
https://www.leonarddavid.com/starliners-saga-tuning-in-the-uncertainty-band/
Boeing Starliner: NASA’s “Deposit, No-return” Decision?
https://www.leonarddavid.com/boeing-starliner-nasas-deposit-no-return-decision/
Watch the media event on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Go to:
NASA held another in a series of media briefings on August 14, providing an update on the continuing, complex, and sometimes confusing Boeing Crew Flight Test.
Bottom line from NASA: “Mission managers continue to evaluate the Starliner spacecraft’s readiness in advance of decisional meetings no earlier than next week regarding the return of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.”
Engineering lingo
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test launched on June 5 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Wilmore and Williams arrived at the International Space Station on June 5 for their pre-ordained eight day mission before returning to Earth.
For Boeing, they are literally in the “doghouse” – perhaps unfortunate engineering lingo — because “doghouses” are where Starliner’s control thrusters are located that proved troublesome.
Both Boeing and NASA teams are trying to figure out why multiple thrusters on the good ship “Calypso” failed during docking.

NASA astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore during pre-launch Boeing Starliner spacecraft simulator workout at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Partnership
The Crew Flight Test is an end-to-end test of the Starliner system as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program – a partnership with American private industry to open the aperture wider to low Earth orbit and the space station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities.
Yesterday’s briefing by NASA involved:
— Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
— Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
— Russ DeLoach, chief, NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance
— NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba
— Emily Nelson, chief flight director, NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate
Their titles give you an idea of what’s underway at NASA as it plots a course of action regarding the troubled Starliner and how best to bring back its two-person crew safe and sound back to terra firma.
Go/no-go
Forthcoming is a NASA go/no-go on returning Starliner stuffed with a crew or perhaps empty. Perhaps SpaceX and its Dragon spacecraft might serve as a “rescue option” for returning Wilmore and Williams.
But then there are other complications.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams, wearing Boeing spacesuits.
Image crrdit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
“The Boeing suit is made to work with the Starliner spacecraft and the SpaceX suit is made to work with the Dragon spacecraft. Both were designed to fit the unique nature of their respective spacecraft,” responded NASA spokesperson Steven Siceloff to my Inside Outer Space question via email.
Also, there have been reports that the Starliner can’t fly home without a crew. But that appears not to be the case.

SpaceX Dragon astronauts and their spacesuits. Doug Hurley (left), and Robert Behnken ready for departure on Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission on May 30, 2020.
Image credit: NASA TV/Inside Outer Space
“Starliner flies autonomously and can fly itself back – it did that during OFT-2 [an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 of Starliner back in May 2022.] There are details that are specific to the mission that have to be updated but the overall system is built for the autonomous flight,” Siceloff added.
High drama
All of this high drama is coming to closure, perhaps prior to the end of this month.
So stay tuned…
In the meantime, give a listen to the recent media briefing: NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (Aug. 14, 2024) in replay mode on Youtube at:
BTW: Here are my early musings about this evolving situation looking for a solution:
Starliner’s Saga: Tuning in the “Uncertainty Band”
https://www.leonarddavid.com/starliners-saga-tuning-in-the-uncertainty-band/
Boeing Starliner: NASA’s “Deposit, No-return” Decision?
https://www.leonarddavid.com/boeing-starliner-nasas-deposit-no-return-decision/