Stuck in Space

If you want to send something to space, it’s typically three different teams that are responsible for:

1. Verifying the engineering of the thing meets “sendable to space” requirements

2. Getting the thing into a rocket

3. Flying the thing once it’s in space

I was fortunate in my last aerospace role to have responsibilities in all three facets, and it was another reminder that everything is just people. I worked with NASA mission managers to figure out what sorts of things we would send to the International Space Station, how we would get it all into the rocket, and how we would make sure the astronauts were safe to recover it all from the inside of our vehicle. 

Most people know that two astronauts were stuck on the ISS with no way home for a few months longer than everybody expected. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore took a trip to the ISS in Boeing’s Starliner capsule, intended for no more than 10 days, and problems with Starliner turned their stay into about 9 months.

To progress in developing our CONOPS for loading time critical science into our vehicle while on a launch pad inside a United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket, work sent me to the Cape Canaveral a number of times. Since ULA is a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Starliner launched from the same launch pad that we would be launching from.

We would have to accept the time critical science from the NASA Cold Stowage team at the launch pad, take the cargo up the crew access tower elevator 12 floors, into a clean room, and then finally into the rocket payload fairing where our vehicle would be. One of the last times that I toured the clean room I noticed some writing in sharpie by the opening that hadn’t been there previously - Suni and Butch’s signatures. I looked at our escort and said “Wow, they were just here. They just signed this. Any idea when they’re coming home?” He said, “not yet - but if you’re an astronaut, is there any place you’d rather be?”