There is no decision yet on whether to return the Boeing Starliner crew, who are “stuck” on the ISS, to Earth. The astronauts flew to the station for a week and have been there for almost two months. Bringing people back to Boeing carries some risk, but not using the Starliner carries the risk of shutting down the program and causing losses to the company, as well as tarnishing NASA’s reputation. The agency is standing by the decision and exploring alternatives.

The Arstechnica resource has collected a number of unofficial data on the discussion of the Starliner issue at NASA, and has received their confirmation from a number of third-party but reliable sources. First, there is a certain risk of flying a Boeing spacecraft to Earth, and this has created a kind of lobby at NASA to refuse to use the Starliner manned capsule.

The risk is apparently high enough that NASA has decided to go with such an option without hesitation. Last weekend’s in-orbit tests of the spacecraft’s maneuvering engines were generally “good,” but the discussion about their results, which began on Tuesday, was decided to continue next week, and a meeting on the subject scheduled for August 1 was canceled.

Throughout all this time, NASA has chosen not to speak directly about the return of the Starliner crew in an alternative way, such as on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon ships. The agency has emphasized that it is exploring all ways to return the crew to Earth each time. At the same time, SpaceX received $266,678 from NASA on July 14 for the program. “Special study on emergency response”. NASA said that this program has nothing to do with the Starliner problem. Arstechnica’s sources denied this official view: it should be.

It is assumed that SpaceX will study the issue of placing five or six astronauts on the Crew Dragon ships. At least the spacesuits for the flight of the Starliner crew in the Crew Dragon capsules have already been selected. It is also known that another crew is planned to be sent to the Crew Dragon ship (Crew-9 mission) on August 18. Two people can fly instead of four (the standard maximum capacity of the ship). SpaceX is allegedly working on such a scenario. Later, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be able to return to the ships in their entirety. Optionally, a return with a crew of five on board is also possible.

An anonymous source told Arstechnica that the chances of Willmore and Williams returning to Crew Dragon are greater than 50%. NASA and Boeing are trying to avoid such a scenario. If something irreparable happens during the Starliner’s return, the parties’ liability will increase rapidly. The main battle on this front today seems to be: the balance of risk and reward.