Every time an article on this subject pops up, I tend to wonder if the 2 astronauts will ever just 'call it' and go "this is enough, please send the Dragon and get us home"
The forcing function is Crew 9, currently scheduled to launch no earlier than 24 September [1]. If they don’t want to fly Starliner, the face saving move is to delay signing off until then.
[1] https://www.space.com/space-force-1st-guardian-from-own-laun...
Are those suits being made? Can they be made without the wearers present for fitting? Did someone think of this before the Boeing launch?
[1] https://jalopnik.com/stranded-astronauts-now-have-to-deal-wi...
No. They'd have to come down not wearing suits.
If they choose to return on Crew-9, the associated IVA suits do exist and would be sent up. They already have both astronauts' measurements and have either made/adjusted a set for them, or have found ones that would be a good enough fit.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/yes-nasa-really-could-...
Eric Berger and Arstechnica in general has a fairly reliable track record on space related reporting. So I would trust them more than all the "big" outlets which can't seem to live in their own reality.
This is SpaceX’s pitch. NASA hasn’t accepted it yet. The novel risks could favour using the Starliner suits in Dragon or no suit at all.
Of course there is. They already have them and we know they fit.
We also know, by the way, the measurements of the Starliner and Dragon ports. Making an adapter is theoretically easier than making a new suit. If you don’t think so, then map every argument for that scepticism to remotely tailoring a spacesuit.
> no risk to using Dragon IVA suits that are based on the measurements they already have of both of them
Measurements can change or be faulty or be critical at different parts of the body for different suit designs. “No risk” doesn’t exist in aerospace.
They should send up the new suits and then evaluate.
[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/spacex-polaris-dawn-mi...
The other question is how long it takes to make Crew Dragon ready.
I don't know how fast a Dragon could be refitted with the docking adapter so maybe the other 2 aren't available on any sort of emergency basis.
The emergency plan for Butch and Suni until Crew 9 gets there is either YOLO Starliner or lay on the bulkhead of Crew 8 below the 4 astronaut seats, not wearing space suits since the Starliner suits can't be hooked up to Dragon.
The better question might be how much SpaceX would charge for having a Crew Dragon with ISS docking adapters standing ready for launch within one week. I'd guess that would cost SpaceX less than $100mm. (The actual mission would be billed at usual rates. You're paying for optionality.)
Last-minute rescue from orbit simply hasn't been something our species has had the technology to do until recently. (Space Shuttle needed 30 days on paper.)
They are missing spouses, birthdays, weddings, they will miss thanksgiving and christmas with their families.
I'm sure it's great to be there and they are lucky to be there, but, it must also suck to miss out, especially unexpectedly and when you have no real choice in the matter.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_E._Wilmore#Personal_life
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunita_Williams#Personal_life