Whether the two American astronauts can return to Earth is probably left to fate.
Recently, two American astronauts were trapped on the International Space Station and could not return for a while, which became big news. The ship that failed was a Starship developed by Boeing in the United States. It was supposed to be a very smooth launch, but unexpectedly, when the spacecraft arrived at the space station, the propulsion system had a helium leak and multiple thrusters failed. The exact time of the spacecraft's return home has not yet been determined, and the two astronauts can only temporarily "take refuge" on the space station.
Now the International Space Station is full of nine astronauts. Among them are a 63-year-old female astronaut of Indian origin and a 56-year-old astronaut of Mexican origin. According to the original plan, the two men were supposed to return to Earth on June 14. However, due to various problems on the spacecraft, their return date was postponed again and again, first to June 18, and then to June 22. Now it's time to go home, and I have to push it back a little further.
There are only three countries that can now have the technology to bring astronauts back safely: the United States, Russia, and China. After the retirement of the U.S. Space Shuttle program, it gradually began to rely on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. But the Russian offer is about $70 million per seat. The landlord's family was also short of money, and this price was too expensive for the United States, so they assigned the task to a private company. At this time, the private manned spacecraft company in the United States came into being.
IN MAY 2020, MUSK'S SPACE COMPANY SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED THE MANNED DRAGON SPACECRAFT. This is the first manned space mission to be launched from the United States since the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011. The cost was reduced from $70 million to $55 million for the original Russian "Soyuz". Not to be outdone, Boeing successfully launched its Starliner on June 5, 2024, sending two astronauts to the International Space Station. Originally, they only had to stay for a week, but now it is far away.
The United States now has three options for itself: One is to repair the leaking spacesuit and the malfunction of the "starliner" and return by "starliner." The United States now seems to be engaged in this difficult work, and if it succeeds, it will certainly be the best outcome. Second, Boeing will launch another "starliner", but there is still uncertainty about whether the original failure problem can be overcome. The third is to use Musk's "Dragon" spacecraft, it is said that Musk's offer is $350 million, and Boeing simply declined Musk's kindness and insisted on solving the problem in its own way.
Supposedly, it is okay to use the Russian "Soyuz", but in terms of the current US-Russian relations, will the United States open its mouth to Russia? At least for now, the United States has no such intentions. Another option is to use China's "Shenzhou" series of spacecraft, but there is a technical problem, the ISS uses a Russian-style docking interface, and the Chinese spacecraft uses an international standard docking interface, and the two are not fully compatible. Whether this technical difficulty can be solved, I am afraid that no one will be sure for a while.
Another problem is the "Wolf Clause" of the United States, which prohibits the US space agency from cooperating with China. The United States has to fight itself in the mouth, and even in terms of face, the United States will not come to China with such condescension. So judging from the current situation, the United States probably will not choose to ask China for help.
In order to deal with possible risks, Boeing has purchased high insurance for the two astronauts. But "insurance does not protect life", and now the whole world is paying attention to the dynamics of the International Space Station and the safety of the two astronauts. As for how this space rescue game between Boeing and Musk will end, we can only wait and see.