The faces of joy Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, NASA astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) in the ship Starliner, from the Boeing companythey are no longer as smiling as they were at the beginning of June. The pair of scientists are stranded on the orbital ship due to problems with the machine that was supposed to return them to Earth.
The return trip was scheduled for this Wednesday, June 26. However, for at least four days, different missions of the rest of the ISS crew have been cancelled, including space walks outside the station, to focus on solving the problems of the Starliner Crew Flight Test.
A review of Tweak Town reports that the spacecraft has recorded five helium leaks, including one before the flight that was solved, they say, in a hurry so as not to cancel Boeing’s flight to space.
Now with this enormous amount of problems they are trying to solve in order to return. This Wednesday’s return looks like it will clearly be cancelled. From NASA they express taking the breakdowns calmly and without rushing, to solve them in the most optimal way possible and for both Suni and Butch to return safely.
“We are taking our time and following the standard process of our mission management team. We are letting data drive our decision making regarding management of the small helium system leaks and thruster performance that we observe during rendezvous and docking. Additionally, given the duration of the mission, it is appropriate that we complete an agency-level review, similar to that done prior to the return of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 after two months in orbit, to document formal acceptance of the agency in the process, as planned,” said Steve Stich, director of the Commercial Crew Program of the POT.
NASA reports that the Starliner is “performing well in orbit while docking with the ISS. “We are strategically using the additional time to clear the way for some critical station activities while we complete preparation for Butch and Suni’s return on Starliner and gain valuable information about system upgrades we will want to make for post-certification missions.” ”Stich added.
The feedback from the astronauts who are on the ISS is positive and optimistic that they will find a way to return home safely.
