The Starliner astronauts have been on the International Space Station for two months and uncertainty remains about whether their return on their Boeing spacecraft is safe.

An eight-day test mission could turn into eight months if they have to join a new crew arriving in September. They would then work on the station for another six months and return on a SpaceX spacecraft in February 2025. This is no ordinary flight delay and raises questions about how ready we are for space tourism, says UBC researcher Dr. Aaron Boley, whose book will be published in 2023. Who owns space? addresses these and other considerations.

Space hotels

Astronauts are highly trained and understand the risks of space travel, such as potentially extended mission times. Tourists visiting the station do not have the same training. Their “lifeboats” are limited to the spacecraft the crew arrived on. Will they learn lessons from space travel when the planned space hotels open? Titanic and have enough lifeboats for everyone on board, plus discharge quotas?

Unsuitable contractors

The Starliner spacesuits are not compatible with the SpaceX spacecraft, so if the Starliner crew needed to return aboard SpaceX, they would have to do so without protective suits, which poses additional risks. While this is an unlikely scenario, it raises the question of what other incompatibilities might arise when private contractors, protecting their intellectual property, build spacecraft for intergovernmental missions, says Dr. Boley.

Interview language(s): English