Stranded U.S. Astronauts – Victims of Geopolitical Jockeying

People have been totally bewildered by the realization that the first flight of the Boeing Starliner, which brought two astronauts to the International Space Station for a ten-day stay on June 5, has left them stranded there for over 70 days now, and that they are liable to spend six more months on the ISS before they can return on a scheduled flight of the next SpaceX rocket.

The problems with the spacecraft became apparent on the trip to the station, with some helium leaks and the failure of some of the reaction control thrusters in docking. While Boeing, which can only try to resolve the problems remotely from Earth, has assured NASA that it would be safe to bring the astronauts back on Starliner, the space agency is not buying it. The safety of the astronauts is always of primary concern. The added costs of bringing Starliner home without the astronauts may be more important for cash-strapped Boeing than the lives and well-being of those they sent up there.

So what went wrong with the once reliable Boeing? Fundamentally, the answer has to do with the gradual destruction of America’s overall industrial capabilities under the regime of “shareholder value”. The so-called “commercialization of space” has led to profit-making trumping the safety of astronauts and the effectiveness of the program.

The U.S. space program won its spurs as one of the most successful programs of the last century because it was made the commitment of the entire nation, represented by placing it under the competent management of a civilian government institution, NASA. That agency operated on the principle that the safety of the people engaged in what is always a dangerous undertaking comes first, regardless of the cost financially or politically.

In this case, the lives of the astronauts are probably not at risk, although they will have to live in very cramped quarters for another six months, with whatever effect that may have on their health and well-being. What makes the situation so irrational is that they could be brought back to Earth in a matter of days, if NASA would call the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) and request a Soyuz spacecraft be sent to fetch them and bring them home, as recently confirmed by the head of the agency, Yuri Borisov.

Obviously, the continuation of NATO’s war with Russia has made NASA officials nervous about consulting Russia on the matter, although it would quickly resolve the problem. After all, Soyuz has been a staple of transportation to the space station since the beginning. While there are people at NASA who would favor that solution, ultimately, the matter lies in the hands of the Biden Administration, and most directly in the hands of Kamala Harris, who, as vice president, is also the chair of the National Space Council.

Will Kamala make the call? It is unlikely that she would have the courage or would run the risk of alienating any of the people in the U.S. political elites, who have selected her as the Democratic presidential candidate, by asking Russia to help in this matter.