Sunita Williams of NASA might find herself stranded in space with just 96 hours of oxygen.

Sunita Williams of NASA might find herself stranded in space with just 96 hours of oxygen.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, two NASA astronauts, are traveling in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which presents three significant risks. If reentry fails, they could be left stranded in space with only ninety-six hours of oxygen, or the spacecraft might not completely reenter Earth’s atmosphere, leaving them in orbit indefinitely. If the heat shield fails and the spacecraft reenters at an excessive angle, the most dangerous scenario is vaporization.  

Serious issues with their return spacecraft have forced NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to spend an extended period of time aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their timeline, which was originally set to return within a week of their June 5, 2024, launch on Boeing’s Starliner, may now extend to more than eight months.

 This is concerning because it means that they may have to depend on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to get back to Earth, which would mean that Boeing’s first-ever human spaceflight would become an impromptu rescue operation.

NASA is currently debating whether to move forward with a SpaceX rescue mission or try to bring the astronauts back using the malfunctioning Starliner. The potential risks connected to the malfunctioning spacecraft emphasize how serious the situation is.
Former US military space systems commander Rudy Ridolfi has outlined three dire scenarios that could arise from using the Starliner for reentry. A safe reentry depends on the spacecraft’s service module being aligned. According to Ridolfi, proper placement of the Starliner is necessary for a secure return to Earth.

 If the alignment is off, there could be a number of harmful consequences:

Limited oxygen supply and thruster failure: The Starliner might find itself stranded in space with just 96 hours of oxygen supply. This is one possible scenario. This could happen if the capsule makes an incorrect angle attempt at reentry, bouncing off the Earth’s atmosphere and staying in orbit.

Failure to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere: An additional possibility is that incorrect alignment will prevent the spacecraft from ever entering the atmosphere again. Because of this, the capsule would be unable to descend correctly and would instead remain in space indefinitely.

Vaporization upon reentry: Reentering the atmosphere at an angle too steep is the worst case scenario for the spacecraft. This might cause the heat shield on the Starliner to fail in situations of high friction and Limited oxygen supply and thruster failure: The Starliner might find itself stranded in space with just 96 hours of oxygen supply. This is one possible scenario. This could happen if the capsule makes an incorrect angle attempt at reentry, bouncing off the Earth’s atmosphere and staying in orbit.

Failure to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere: An additional possibility is that incorrect alignment will prevent the spacecraft from ever entering the atmosphere again. Because of this, the capsule would be unable to descend correctly and would instead remain in space indefinitely.

Vaporization upon reentry: Reentering the atmosphere at an angle too steep is the worst case scenario for the spacecraft. This might cause the heat shield on the Starliner to fail in situations of high friction and