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NASA decides to keep 2 astronauts in space until February, nixes return on troubled Boeing capsule (apnews.com)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Yes, there's currently more crew than seats if you exclude the Starliner. In an emergency, I'm sure they could strap Wilmore and Williams into the Crew Dragon and/or Soyuz MS capsules somewhere, if they really had to. NASA likes to run every possible scenario, so I'm sure they already have a contingency plan for that.

Assuming they don't want to use the Starliner capsule for some reason. I haven't heard of any actual risk with using it.

Edit: I decided to actually read the article. They'd squeeze them into the Crew Dragon if they had to. And the problem with the Starliner isn't just helium leaks like I'd heard, it's also thruster seals swelling and blocking their own propellant. Thrusters are kind of important for attitude control.