The Starliner astronauts have been on the International Space Station for two months, and uncertainty remains as to whether it’s safe for them to return on their Boeing spacecraft.
What was to be an eight-day test mission could become eight months, if they have to become part of a new crew arriving in September. This would see them work another six months on the station, returning on a SpaceX vessel in February 2025. It’s not your average flight delay, and raises questions about just how ready we are for space tourism, says UBC researcher Dr. Aaron Boley, whose 2023 book Who Owns Outer Space? delves into these and other considerations.
Space hotels
Astronauts are highly trained, well-versed on the risks involved in space travel such as potentially extended mission times. Tourists visiting the station don’t have the same training. Its ‘lifeboats’ are limited to whatever spacecraft the crew arrived on. When proposed space hotels launch, will they learn lessons from Titanic and have enough lifeboats for everyone on board, plus redundancies?
Un-suitable contractors
The Starliner spacesuits are not compatible with the SpaceX craft, so if the Starliner crew had to return aboard SpaceX, they would have to do so unsuited, creating additional risks. Although an unlikely scenario, it raises the question of what other incompatibilities might arise when private contractors, protecting their intellectual property, create spacecraft for intergovernmental missions, says Dr. Boley.
Interview language(s): English
