NASA Just Paid SpaceX $267,000 to Develop an Emergency Plan to Rescue Astronauts on the ISS

An interesting contract has recently emerged among NASA’s public tenders. The timing is particularly interesting, to say the least.

A rescue plan. On Monday, NASA awarded SpaceX a $267,000 contract to conduct a “Special Study for Emergency Response” related to International Space Station (ISS) astronauts and their return trip to Earth.

This contract echoes a previous request SpaceX received when NASA was considering bringing back astronaut Frank Rubio on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Rubio had spent 371 days aboard the ISS due to a leak in the Soyuz spacecraft intended for his return to Earth.

A coincidence. The contract comes at an interesting time, given that two NASA astronauts, who were supposed to be at the ISS for a two-week test trip, have been at the Space Station for almost two months. This is due to a series of problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which are still under investigation.

Speculation linking the two events surfaced quickly after Reddit users discovered the contract in the government’s procurement database.

NASA attempts to put an end to speculation. On Thursday, the space agency issued a statement to deny any connection between the substantial payment to SpaceX and the delay in the return of the Starliner spacecraft.

“The study is not related to Starliner,” the statement reads. “NASA continuously explores a wide range of contingency options with our partners to ensure crew safety aboard the International Space Station”.

The statement continues: “Over the past couple of years, the agency has worked with its commercial partner SpaceX to provide additional return capability on the Dragon spacecraft in the event of a contingency.”

Plan B: Dragon. In the event of an emergency, it’s infeasible to launch a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft overnight. However, there is a backup plan. The Dragon spacecraft that’s already docked at the ISS (Crew Dragon Endeavour from the Crew-8 mission) has the capacity for seven crew members, even though NASA limits it to only four.

If the two NASA astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, needed to be rescued, there’d be room for them on the spacecraft. However, the feasibility of their return would depend on factors such as the compatibility of Boeing’s spacesuits with the Dragon and the safety of the additional astronauts during re-entry.

Still no scheduled return date for the Starliner. In any case, astronauts Williams and Wilmore aren’t stranded on the ISS. Instead, they’re waiting for NASA to authorize their return, which could happen at any time.

The spacecraft can return as there’s extra helium despite the helium leaks on the Starliner. The reason for the absence of a return date is to continue gathering data to understand the leaks and propellant failures. This is crucial for the safety of Williams, Wilmore, and future crew members of Boeing’s new spacecraft.

This article was written by Matías S. Zavia and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Image | SpaceX

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