NASA PR Flacks, Whatever You Say, Don’t Say “Marooned”

The more interesting part of the stranded astronaut story, to me, is what they’re going to do with Calypso, the Boeing Starliner capsule that isn’t safe enough to fly them home. NASA’s decision to leave astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station until February 2025 is getting plenty of coverage. Less coverage has been given to another decision: to fly the empty Starliner home by remote control.

When will that happen? Sometime before the 24th of September, because that’s when a commercial SpaceX Dragon vehicle is scheduled to arrive, and it’s going to need the docking port Calypso’s using. The Dragon, by the way, will deliver the suitcases Williams and Wilmore had to leave behind when they went up for what was supposed to be a week-long stay, along with two new astronauts who, with Williams and Wilmore, will make up ISS Crew 9, slated to man the ISS until February 2025.

I’ve read and watched too much science fiction not to appreciate the perils of maneuvering heavy objects in close proximity in zero G (and as a recent USAF air refueling mishap indicates, in one G as well). The ISS is too flimsy to withstand what, down here in the gravity well, would be no more than a parking lot ding. So yeah — this is the pins and needles part of the unfolding story.

Astronauts and cosmonauts have been stuck aboard the ISS before, having to stay longer than expected. To be strictly fair, the same Starliner capsule presently attached to the ISS has orbited and re-entered under remote control before, and a second Starliner docked and undocked with the ISS under remote control. So everything should go smoothly, right? Nevertheless, once NASA announces the exact date of Calypso’s return, you can bet I’ll be glued to the live feed.

And I’ll tell you what, those two astronauts better be getting some kind of voucher from Boeing!

In my recollection, what little media coverage Kamala Harris got, back when she was just the vice president, back before President Biden withdrew from the 2024 race and her sudden elevation as the new Democratic candidate, was mostly negative. There were stories about her temper, about staff members leaving, hints of tension between her and the boss. Some in the media were speculating Biden might choose another running mate. Almost no one, including me, thought she’d be a viable candidate for president should Biden not run.

All I have to say now is shame on the media. And shame on me for swallowing what they were peddling. She’s gonna be awesome!

Good lord, isn’t that enough?

Finally, this: