Last Wednesday, NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to take refuge in their respective spacecraft as a precautionary measure against the breakup of a satellite at an altitude close to that of the station. Mission Control continued to monitor the path of the debris and, after about an hour, the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and the station resumed normal operations.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams activated their safe haven procedures, were collected inside Starliner and preparations began for a possible undocking from the station if necessary. They closed the hatch before the closest approach of the debris, which passed without incident, Boeing reported.
“Starliner Safe Haven worked exceptionally well and as planned for this case,” said Ed Van Cise, the Starliner flight director who coordinated the shelter efforts with Wilmore and Williams.
Starliner was out of docked sleep mode for about three hours. The additional metrics collected Wednesday night will benefit the Starliner certification process and improve the experience for future crews, Boeing added. Starliner remains available to return in the event of an emergency on the ISS that requires the crew to immediately deorbit and return to Earth.
