Image from https://people.com 11 Aug 24
With the recent (August 2024) issue of the CST-100 Boeing Starliner having RCS issues (helium leaks) which has left (as of this article) two NASA Astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, in space for over 63 days (and counting) the International Space Standards Organisation unanimously agreed to add a rule they never thought would be necessary given the rigours of Space Travel.
Rule 138 – Always have a Plan B
Rule 138b. Ensure your Backup Plan contains the essentials including (but not limited to) the cat (Rule 20), MOAS (Rule 3), and your Spotato (Rule 105).
Rule 138c. Have a Plan D in case Plans A-C fail.
Rule 138d. Have a Plan C, else Rule 138c will not work.
The situation as of this date can be read here in an article by CNN.
It is likely that the staff at Boeing are rapidly becoming aware of Leonards Fifth Law of Spacetime, and of RfSaST Rule 77 – The fact that there is never truly zero-g is proven by Leonard’s Fifth Law: Even in space, shit flows downhill. In the spirit of hoping that nothing lives forever on the Internet (even though everything does) the first manned mission has been renamed as a ‘Crew Flight Test’ and the next mission is labelled Flight 1.
The CST-100 Remote piloting system Mission Data Load was configured for the capsule to have manual operation only. Given this means overshoots compared to automatic control and thus the RCS has to work harder, and given the RCS helium leaks due to overheating is the issue that got the CST stuck in the first place, it is unlikely they’ll crew the Starliner to detach it from ISS Harmony module’s forward port.
It is looking likely that Butch and Suni will spend up to 6 months on board the ISS. They are fully trained for EVA and have toured on the ISS before so the only issue will be the brief overlap of 2 extra members on board the ISS taking its normal complement of 7 up to 9.
We here at Third Planet Publishing Planet will do our best to stay apprised of the situation and keep you loyal readers informed.