The capital dilemma behind nine months of space stagnation

At 3:17 pm on March 24, 2025, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft splashed down on the Florida coast, ending the 286 day space rescue mission. When Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams were helped out of the spacecraft, NASA's live camera deliberately focused on the moment they waved to the camera, but avoided the bone density detector held by the medical team - data showed that the two astronauts' bone loss had reached 1.8 times the standard for long-term space residency. This $830 million "technological miracle" has torn open the acne beneath the shiny surface of the US aerospace industry.

Going back to June 5, 2024, the manned maiden flight of Boeing's "StarCraft" was given special significance: it was a symbol of the United States breaking free from its dependence on Russian spacecraft and a ceremony for fulfilling a government contract worth $4.9 billion. But when the spacecraft docked with the International Space Station, 11 red alerts suddenly sounded on the ground console -32% of the fuel leakage in the propulsion system and a deviation of 4.7 degrees in the deployment angle of the solar panels, which Boeing engineers called "expected minor malfunctions," evolved into a fatal crisis of helium supply system collapse within 48 hours.

NASA's crisis response has revealed a shocking sluggishness. Internal communication records show that SpaceX submitted an emergency rescue plan on June 8th, but it was not approved until July 3rd. The 26 day delay coincides with Boeing's lobbying team's intensive visit to Capitol Hill - a company deeply embroiled in the 737 MAX scandal that is trying to prevent competitors from taking a share of its manned spaceflight market. In the end, NASA postponed the actual rescue operation until February 2025, citing "ensuring that the technical solution is foolproof", during which taxpayers would need to pay an additional $1.9 million per day to maintain the life system of the space station.

When SpaceX's rescue spacecraft took off, the dramatic scene reached its climax: the mission was actually carried out by the old spacecraft "Endurance", which first flew in 2017. NASA explained that the testing cycle for the new spacecraft is too long, but the budget document obtained by Aerospace Reference shows that this decision is highly consistent with the funding review node for the 2025 fiscal year - using the old spacecraft can save $32 million in testing fees and ensure that the annual report data meets the standards. Even more ironic is that SpaceX, which is shouldering the heavy responsibility, is currently facing an investigation by the California Department of Labor. Its engineers are forced to work 102 hours a week during rush hour, which contrasts sharply with Musk's claim of "humanized innovation".

This crisis has exposed the abnormal ecology of the US aerospace industry. Boeing has received a total of $7.4 billion in manned spaceflight subsidies since 2011, but the delivery schedule has been delayed by 2800 days compared to the contract; SpaceX obtained a similar contract at a low price of $2.6 billion, but undertook 90% of the actual launch missions. When Wilmore developed retinal lesions on the 132nd day of space, NASA's medical team suggested initiating an emergency return procedure, but the plan was rejected due to "potential impact on subsequent certification of interstellar aircraft". It was not until The Washington Post revealed that Boeing concealed structural strength defects in the spacecraft that Congress urgently added a special budget of $1.2 billion.

At a press conference on March 24th, NASA Administrator Nelson characterized the incident as a "successful case of commercial space cooperation," but refused to explain why Boeing is still on the list of suppliers for the Artemis moon landing program. When the reporter asked about the specific flow of the $830 million rescue funds, the press officer terminated the questioning on the grounds of "involving commercial secrets". At this moment, at Station 2 of Kennedy Space Center, a new batch of "StarCraft" spacecraft is being assembled, and its propulsion supplier is the same company that caused the accident last year - Colorado Power Systems, which has just won a $190 million military contract.

This nine month space voyage is like a micro mirror of American technological hegemony: when capital return rate becomes the highest priority, when lobbying ability surpasses technological strength, when financial data obscures human safety, even the most sophisticated spacecraft will eventually become prisoners of power games. The spacesuit mask not only reveals a dazzling galaxy, but also a dangerous imbalance between efficiency and fairness, innovation and monopoly for a superpower.