Spacesuits made by SpaceX and Boeing are not compatible

NASA is still busy assessing the risks involved in returning astronauts Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmaur, who have been stranded aboard the International Space Station since early June, to Earth.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft has suffered technical problems that have forced the space agency to make several contingency plans.

While NASA and Boeing insist that Starliner is ready to fly the two crew members to the surface in an emergency — despite the potential for multiple engine failures — alternative ride-sharing options could expose Williams and Wilmore to significant risk.

First, the Starliner spacesuits are not compatible with those used on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. That means if the duo returns in the SpaceX capsule currently docked at the station, which is one of the rescue plans NASA is considering, they will fly without a suit, as they did with the Starliner spacecraft. NASA confirmed during a conference call last week – an unfortunate reality for the space agency and one that will likely be a factor in its next decision.

Although spacesuits for launch and entry or inside the spacecraft, unlike extravehicular activity (EVA) suits, are worn as a precaution inside the spacecraft in case of loss of cabin pressure, they can be life-saving in the event of an emergency. They can help regulate temperature and, in some cases, collect and pass data to the spacecraft program.

The incompatibility between SpaceX and Boeing's suits is due to the nature of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which funded the development of both Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon.

“In every era of spaceflight before the current one, NASA has used a different model for purchasing spacecraft,” explained Swapna Krishna of the YouTube channel Ad Astra in Modern Explanatory VideoHe added that NASA was “deeply involved” throughout the entire process.

But with Commercial Crew, NASA has allowed its private sector partners “to design and innovate as long as the companies meet NASA’s general requirements and safety standards, as well as reach specific milestones, one of which is a successful crewed test flight,” Krishna explained.

But the agency “did not specify” that the spacesuits “must be compatible with each other,” a way NASA “controls risk” by keeping its options as broad as possible in case something goes wrong with one option.

Since Boeing and SpaceX have chosen very different design approaches, it is simply not possible to replace one with the other.

Even if Williams and Wilmore were loaded into the already full Crew 8 Dragon, and Krishna explained that they had their suits fitted somehow, but the capsule was only designed for four passengers, even though it was originally designed for a crew of seven. That meant their suits wouldn't have had a place to attach them anyway.

Fortunately, NASA has an entirely separate option to return the astronauts to Earth: SpaceX's upcoming Crew-9 mission, which could launch with just two crew members, not four, to make room for Williams and Wilmore, allowing them to return sometime in February.

In this case, the space agency could simply send two additional suits for both, making this a more convenient option.

Regardless of whether Williams and Wilmore return on Crew 8 or on SpaceX's next flight, the demise of Boeing's troubled Starliner will likely remain painful.

The Space Giant and NASA Committed to billions of dollars The capsule is in development – so returning without any passengers on board would be a huge vote of no confidence.

More about Starliner: Boeing official says he's not surprised Starliner astronauts are still stuck in space