A Youtuber called Ellie in Space claims that a NASA source sent her the following message. It was in response to a question about when NASA knew that the Boe-CFT mission’s Starliner vehicle would not be able to undock and return to Earth autonomously without being reconfigured.
So if you want to know when??? Well always, but it wasn’t a reasonable consideration to retain the unmanned Starliner capsule software to work in the manned version of the capsule as a contingency. Would you call that a mistake?? Maybe, but let’s think about the need to really ever plan to send folks up to space and leave them there with no way to fly home… they would always chose to risk the ride vs having no way home.
No one really considered this very unique and dynamic situation would happen.
Background
I believe this issue was first brought to light by Eric Berger.
Regardless, sources described the process to update the software on Starliner as “non-trivial” and “significant,” and that it could take up to four weeks. This is what is driving the delay to launch Crew 9 later next month.
A couple of days later, NASA held a press teleconference in which they emphasized that what was needed was merely a “data load”, not a software change. But they indicated timelines that do seem consistent with the “up to four weeks” claim by Berger’s source.
My questions
Aren’t there several realistic scenarios where you’d want to undock a crew vehicle, without its crew (or at least without them being in a fit state to operate the vehicle), in less than 4 weeeks?
Can Crew Dragon do it? Soyuz?
Scenario 4
Well, consider various lesser versions of Scenario 1. What if the crew was only partially reduced in their capabilities?
Perhaps they were both suffering from the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning (including headaches, dizziness, and confusion). Or perhaps one was serously injured, and the other was fine but needed to focus all her attention on tending to her crewmate?
Then it would come down to the question of just how complex and time-consuming the required manual step(s) are. If there’s just a big red button that says “TAKE US HOME” then, it shouldn’t be a problem. But we don’t know.
And if there was just a big red button, couldn’t they try bypassing the current 4-week delay, by coming up with some ways of pressing it without humans on board? ;) Shove an astrobee in there and give it a try. If it doesn’t work, no harm done …