NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been unexpectedly “stranded” in space for over two months. Initially, they docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 as part of Boeing Starliner’s inaugural test mission, with plans to stay for just eight days. However, a malfunction in the capsule’s thrusters has kept them docked indefinitely.As concerns grow about their return to Earth, a former US military Space System Commander, Rudy Ridolfi, has outlined three potentially catastrophic scenarios that could occur if they attempt to return in the faulty spacecraft.

Debate over Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore return mission

NASA is currently weighing whether to proceed with the Boeing Starliner’s return mission or to launch a rescue mission using SpaceX. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Ridolfi explained that for a safe reentry, the Starliner’s service module must position the capsule at the correct angle. If the alignment is incorrect, the consequences could be dire.

Potential risks of misalignment

Ridolfi warned that if the capsule is not properly lined up, it could either burn up upon reentry or be flung back into space. If the service module angles the capsule too steeply during reentry, the heat shield might fail, leading to catastrophic overheating.

The first possible scenario is that the Starliner could remain stuck in space with malfunctioning thrusters and only a 96-hour oxygen supply, likely if the capsule bounces off the atmosphere during a misaligned reentry attempt.

The second scenario involves the spacecraft failing to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere due to a faulty alignment, leading to the same outcome of being stranded in space.

The worst-case scenario, Ridolfi noted, is the astronauts being vaporised if the capsule enters the atmosphere at too steep an angle, causing it to burn up due to excessive friction.