The Boeing spacecraft was due to return to Earth on June 18, after conducting a series of tests over seven days at the International Space Station. Those responsible for the mission have already postponed three times the return of Starliner and they still do not have a clear date for this to happen.
According to the information collected by the “20 minutes” website, Boeing’s first manned spacecraft managed to reach the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6, but the mission that was initially going to last a week is experiencing many problems. and the astronauts of the NASA Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams still don’t know when they will return home.
“We are taking our time and following the standard process of our mission management team,” Steve Stich, director of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, reported on Friday, June 21.
According to the space agency, “future return opportunities” are being evaluated once the two spacewalks planned by the International Space Station for Monday, June 24 and Tuesday, July 2, are completed. These activities, on the other hand, also had to be postponed due to a “problem of discomfort with the suit.”
Despite being ‘trapped’ on the ISS, NASA assures that Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is still authorized to return in the event of an emergency on the Space Station.that requires the crew to leave orbit and return to Earth.”
Why is Starliner’s return to Earth postponed again and again?
The Starliner space capsule took off on June 5 aboard an Atlas V rocket to take astronauts Wilmore and Williams to the International Space Station. The ship arrived the next day, more than an hour late, after suffering some incidents with the propellants and helium leaks.
They were scheduled to return to Earth on June 18, but a new helium leak, the fifth since takeoff, caused NASA and Boeing engineers to rethink the situation.
As we said, last Friday the space agency announced that Starliner will have to remain docked to the front port of the Harmony module of the International Space Station for a few more days, which represents the third delay of the mission to return to Earth.
“We are letting the data drive our decision-making regarding the management of small helium system leaks and the performance of the thrusters that we observe during rendezvous and docking,” explained Stich.
In addition to the helium leaks, which were known even before the ship took off, the problems referred to by the director of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program have to do with five failures. in its 28 maneuvering thrusters.
We remember that this mission, whose objective is to demonstrate that Starliner is a safe vehicle to get to and from the International Space Station, had been experiencing delays in its launch for months until it was finally able to take off from Earth.
NASA downplays the severity of the Starliner problem
Stich assured that “Starliner is working well in orbit while docked with the Space Station” and commented that they are “strategically” using the additional time to “clear the way for some critical station activities,” referring to scheduled walks.
Meanwhile, he added, they are completing “preparation for Butch and Suni’s return” in the space capsule and obtaining “valuable information about system updates,” which will be applied to missions after this one, whose objective is, as mentioned above, to achieve the certification of Starliner as a transport ship to the ISS.
Starliner, although designed for future six-month missions, can remain docked with the International Space Station for up to 45 days during its current mission, according to information provided by the Reuters agency.
Starliner’s undocking and return to Earth represent the most complicated phases of the spacecraft’s test mission.
Despite being ‘trapped’ on the ISS, NASA assures that Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft remains authorized to return in the event of an emergency on the Space Station “that requires the crew to leave orbit and return to Earth.”
