NASA Has Not Set a Return Date for Astronauts aboard the Boeing Capsule at the Space Station
Two NASA astronauts will be staying at the International Space Station longer than initially planned due to issues with their Boeing capsule, officials revealed on Thursday. Test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were scheduled to spend about a week at the space station and return in mid-June. However, thruster failures and helium leaks on Boeing’s Starliner capsule have prolonged their stay.
NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich stated that the return date is still uncertain, as engineers are working to resolve the problems with the Starliner capsule. The goal is to bring Wilmore and Williams back aboard the Starliner once it is deemed safe to do so.
“We’ll come home when we’re ready,” Mr. Stich said, noting that backup options, such as SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, are being considered for transporting astronauts to and from the space station.
Engineers recently conducted tests on a spare thruster in New Mexico to investigate the issues with the Starliner capsule. It was discovered that degraded seals may be the cause of the helium leaks and thruster problems. Further analysis and testing will be conducted while the capsule is docked at the space station.
Boeing’s Mark Nappi mentioned that the team will test-fire the capsule’s thrusters this weekend to gather additional data. The thrusters, which can fit in a hand and weigh 2 pounds each, are crucial for maneuvering the capsule in space.
After the retirement of the space shuttles, NASA turned to private companies like Boeing and SpaceX for astronaut transportation to the space station. Boeing’s first crewed test flight with the Starliner encountered software issues in 2019 and faced additional challenges in subsequent tests.
Meanwhile, SpaceX has been successfully ferrying astronauts to the space station since 2020. However, upcoming crew flights may be delayed due to recent groundings of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets following a satellite-delivery mission failure.
By Marcia Dunn
