Boeing's Starliner Could Spin Out of Control and Crash Into the Space Station, Expert Warns

"I've got to think that the higher-ups of Boeing are regretting ever getting into this game."

Collision Calculation

While NASA works on figuring out how to get the Boeing Starliner astronauts home, experts are concerned that it may straight-up crash into the International Space Station.

As Business Insider notes, there are concerns inside and outside the agency that once the plagued spacecraft undocks from the ISS, malfunctioning thrusters could lead it to spin out of control and ultimately crash into the station.

First floated by sources who spoke to Ars Technica about the issue on condition of anonymity last week, this seeming worst-case scenario was not entirely dismissed by a NASA spokesperson that BI spoke to, who refused to comment on the issue.

We have also reached out to the agency about whether or not those concerns are being discussed internally, and have yet to hear back.

In an interview with BI, famed Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell explained how such a fiasco could unfold.

"If you are undocking from the [ISS] and you lose more than a certain number of your thrusters," he explained, "there's a chance that you might be stuck drifting and or even crash into the Space Station."

Boeing Blues

Though the agency didn't comment on that specific concern, the spokesperson BI was in contact with did flag its latest update on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which has been delayed from August 18 until no sooner than September 24 as NASA continues to grapple with Starliner issues.

Indeed, even as Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams' marooning on the Space Station is potentially being extended into 2025, NASA's watchdog has released a damning report on the Space Launch System, Boeing's other agency commission that has ended up costing $700 million more than it was ever supposed to.

As McDowell told BI, this entire debacle smacks of dissatisfaction on both sides.

"I've got to think that the higher-ups of Boeing are regretting ever getting into this game," he said. "This particular program has been a financial disaster for them, a public relations disaster for them."

With so much going wrong for Boeing here on terra firma, there's no doubt that the nightmarish Starliner saga and the SLS embarrassment are making internal waves at that company.

What's worse: once the SLS actually is finished, McDowell predicted that "it's unlikely to fly that many times."

Seriously though, how much bad press can one company handle?

More on Starliner woes: NASA Clown Car Plan Would Stuff Extra Astronauts Into SpaceX Capsule to Avoid Return Journey in Disastrous Boeing Starliner