--- title: "NASA Admits “Tension in the Room” as It Told Boeing Starliner Couldn’t Return Astronauts to Earth" description: "Amid the ongoing Starliner breakdown fiasco, NASA has admitted that there's been a bit of \"tension\" with Boeing." date: "2024-09-05" modified: "2024-09-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-admits-tension-boeing-starliner" categories: - "Boeing" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "boeing" - "NASA" - "starliner" - "the digest" --- # NASA Admits “Tension in the Room” as It Told Boeing Starliner Couldn’t Return Astronauts to Earth ![Amid the ongoing Starliner breakdown fiasco, NASA has admitted that there's been a bit of "tension" with Boeing.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Difference of Opinion Amid the ongoing Starliner breakdown fiasco, NASA has admitted that there's been a bit of "tension" between its officials and their counterparts at Boeing. As [highlighted by *Space.com*,]() the head of the agency's commercial crew program said [during a press briefing]() earlier this week that the decision to bring the ailing Boeing capsule back to Earth [sans its stranded crew]() was not met with enthusiasm from the embattled aerospace contractor. According to commercial crew director Steve Stich, Boeing doesn't necessarily agree with NASA's assessment that the issues with [Starliner's thrusters]() and [docking modules]() with the International Space Station [make it too unsafe]() to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth when the craft returns this week. "Boeing believed in the model that they had created to predict thruster degradation for the rest of the flight," Stich said during the briefing. "The NASA team looked at the model and saw some limitation. It really had to do with, do we have confidence in the thrusters, and how much we could predict their degradation from undock through the deorbit burn?" ## Boeing Brass Originally [planned as a week-long jaunt]() to highlight the [embattled manufacturer]()'s spacecraft-building prowess, the Starliner mission's return has repeatedly slipped due to helium leaks and thruster issues. Now, Wilmore and Williams are stranded on the ISS until at least early February, and the decision to return them on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is one that Boeing does not seem to be taking with a smile. "Where there's this kind of decision," Stich said, "there is some tension in the room." Despite the admittedly bad vibes, the commercial crew director is sympathetic to Boeing's stance. "From a Boeing standpoint," he added, "they certainly know their spacecraft, and they're analyzing risks and what they think the capability is with the one vehicle." Ultimately, he said, NASA is "in a bit of a different position in terms of our understanding about the risks, and what's available to us without Starliner, so that's also a difference in the opinion." Stich's description may be phrased diplomatically: last week, the [*New York Post* reported]() based on anonymous comment from a NASA official that the conversations became "heated" and [even involved yelling](). "Boeing was convinced that the Starliner was in good enough condition to bring the astronauts home, and NASA disagreed," the official told the *Post*. "The thinking around here was that Boeing was being wildly irresponsible." However severe the situation may truly be, it doesn't sound fun at all — and there's no doubt that there will be more tense talks moving forward, even after Starliner returns to Earth without its precious cargo. **More on Starliner:** [*A Space Force Guardian Is Bringing Stranded Boeing Astronauts Home*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()