Caixin.com, August 3 (Edited by Niú Zhànlín) Due to the failure of the Boeing Company's interstellar passenger spacecraft issue, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched a fierce discussion this week, whether to let two astronauts take the doubtful interstellar passenger spacecraft back or choose the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

Insiders claim that NASA is concerned about interstellar passenger aircraft as they have not identified the root cause of spacecraft thruster malfunction during docking, let alone fix the issue.

On June 5, Boeing's manned spaceship Interstellar Passenger Ship carrying two American astronauts was launched into orbit and docked with the International Space Station on June 6. The Interstellar Passenger Ship was originally scheduled to separate from the Space Station on June 14 and return to Earth, but the return time has been repeatedly postponed due to problems such as thruster failure and helium leakage.

Last week, Steve Stitch, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, said that after weeks of troubleshooting and testing, significant progress was being made, but the return date was not ready to be announced.

Stitch admitted that if the Boeing spacecraft still cannot be fixed in the event of a malfunction, NASA also has a contingency plan, which is to let SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft retrieve the stranded astronauts.

Boeing believes that seals made of Teflon may have aged or been damaged, causing helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, but more analysis is needed. In short, the real cause of the malfunction has not yet been determined after a series of tests, and there is still a risk of further thruster failure.

Although the leadership of NASA and Boeing have publicly stated that the delay is to collect data and find the cause of the malfunction, recent concerns suggest that their internal confidence in whether the interstellar passenger spacecraft can safely return the astronauts is not as high as disclosed.

Therefore, NASA has started discussing contingency plans with Boeing, but this is a difficult decision. Considering the various factors involved, the decision-makers have not reached a consensus.

Difficult decision

According to the well-known US technology media Ars Technica, although Dragon spacecraft is a contingency plan, NASA and Boeing are trying to downplay this possibility, and they call Boeing's spacecraft the "primary choice" for returning to Earth.

Boeing said it has a "flight reason" for returning astronauts on the interstellar passenger spacecraft, meaning the company believes the spacecraft can return to Earth without significant risk.

A Boeing spokesperson claimed on Friday that "we remain confident in the ability of the Interstellar Passenger Ship and its crew to safely return to Earth, and we are working with NASA to provide more data and deeper analysis to verify the spacecraft's performance in departing from the Space Station and landing safely.

It is reported that if an alternative solution is chosen, the most likely option is for SpaceX's Crew-9 mission to carry only two astronauts to make room for the stranded astronauts.

NASA often emphasizes that "the safety of astronauts is still our top priority" when making manned spaceflight decisions, which is inherently risky.

But choosing a backup plan may mean the end of the interstellar passenger spacecraft project. Due to continuous setbacks and years of delays, the interstellar passenger spacecraft project has lost more than 1.5 billion US dollars. The termination of the project will result in the loss of billions of dollars in investment.

If NASA supports Boeing and chooses to return astronauts on the interstellar passenger spacecraft, the agency will bear the currently unquantifiable risks. If a major malfunction occurs during the return process and the astronauts' lives are threatened, the leadership of NASA and Boeing will need to take responsibility for the accident.