The Stranded Astronauts Are Never Coming Back (BA)

As Grandmother use to say: "If it's not one tham ding it's another." (we knew what she was actually saying)

From Inc magazine, August 19:

Spacesuit Designs Could Stall Boeing Starliner Astronauts' Return From the International Space Station

Boeing suits are a nod to NASA's past. SpaceX went the other way, with a futuristic design. The difference may affect how two astronauts finally fly home.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the two astronauts Boeing's Starliner spacecraft ferried into space in June, face an interesting conundrum about how they finally get home. Their ride back to Earth is in question thanks to issues with Starliner, and NASA is poised to make critical decisions on the issue soon. One of the toughest questions about their return trip from space has nothing to do with rockets. Instead, the latest issue centers around space suit sockets and seats.

Suit cases
In case you missed it: Boeing's Starliner space capsule is "stuck" at the International Space Station after a number of thruster malfunctions during its launch in June. It might become unstuck at some point if NASA and Boeing engineers can agree on what went wrong and how to fix the engine issues. Even so, Wilmore and Williams aren't technically stuck the same way their capsule is -- a number of options exist to get them home. However, their space suits pose an unexpected challenge to some potential paths to the astronauts' return. Years-old design decisions by two competing space companies leave the space mission with a classic innovator's dilemma issue, wrapped up in high-tech aerospace gear.

The space suits in question are the "intra-vehicular activity" outfits now worn by astronauts. They're simpler than the bulky extra-vehicular space suits used on space walks, and are designed to keep astronauts safe in the capsule in the very unlikely case there's a problem that causes the capsule's atmosphere to be lost.

The problem is simple: Should Butch and Suni need to fly back aboard SpaceX's vehicle, their suits won't fit in Dragon's seats...

....MUCH MORE

The saga so far:

• June 26: SpaceX May Have To Rescue Astronauts Stranded By Boeing Starliner Failures 
• June 28: NASA and Boeing deny Starliner crew is ‘stranded’: “We’re not in any rush to come home” 
• July 12: "Failed Thrusters, Helium Leaks, and a Hard Deadline: Inside NASA’s Decision to Keep Boeing’s Starliner At the ISS" (BA) 
• July 27: "Astronauts stuck in space for 49 days by malfunctioning Boeing spacecraft can’t return home for weeks" (BA) 
• August 6: "The Latest On The Astronauts Who Are Totally NOT Stranded At The International Space Station"
• August 7: "NASA Says Boeing Starliner Astronauts May Fly Home on SpaceX in 2025" (BA)
• August 9: "Boeing Starliner Could Brick ISS Docking Port If Crew Abandons It" (BA)

Perhaps if Boeing's Chairman and top tech exec offer to crew a rescue mission...