Nasa astronauts could vapourize to death if they return on faulty Starliner

Former US military Space System Commander, Rudy Ridolfi, lays down three possible scenarios of the stranded astronauts' return to earth onboard Starliner. Here's all you need to know

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been 'stranded' in space for over two months now. They were launched aboard Boeing Starliner's inaugural test mission, which was supposed to be an eight-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS), on June 5 this year. However, due to some unexpected technical issues with Starliner’s thrusters, they are stranded indefinitely.

Amid all the concern about their return, an expert revealed three horrific possible scenarios if they were forced to return to earth in the Starliner spacecraft. 

Nasa’s ‘stranded’ astronauts could get vapourised

Nasa is reportedly working on a plan to get the astronauts back safely. The agency is deliberating on whether it should proceed with the faulty Boeing Starliner or launch the SpaceX rescue mission. 

Meanwhile, a former US military Space System Commander, Rudy Ridolfi, has shared three possible scenarios that could play out if the astronauts return to Earth in the faulty spacecraft. 

Ridolfi in his recent interview with Daily Mail explains that to reenter Earth safely, Boeing Starliner should put the capsule at an angled attitude. 

If the capsule is perfectly lined up for reentry, then everything is fine, but in other scenarios like they failed to line it up, they might either get burned or bounce back into space. “In case the Starliner service Modules place the capsule in too steep of a reentry window then the capsule's ablative heat shield would probably fail,” he told the newspaper. 

The first scenario shows that the starliner could be stuck in space with failed thrusters and a 96-hour oxygen supply. It will happen if the spacecraft tries to reenter Earth's surface through the wrong angle which will ultimately result in bouncing off the atmosphere. 

In the second scenario, the spacecraft could bounce off the Earth's atmosphere as it will fail to line up for re-entry. In the worst-case scenario, the astronauts will get vapourised to death in space. According to Ridolfi, it is possible only if the angle is too steep, leading to an increase in friction leading to the burning up of Starliner.

According to some reports, Nasa may opt for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Capsule to bring astronauts back. They may launch this rescue mission in September. However, this mission could lead to the removal of two Russian cosmonauts from their planned seats on the spacecraft accommodating Williams and Wilmore.