NASA extends stay on ISS to 90 days

After experiencing certain delays on the ground before even embarking on its first flight, the Starliner’s current situation is far from NASA’s initial plans. The spacecraft, designed and built by the American Boeing, experienced a series of technical problems on its maiden voyage heading to the International Space Station.

The launch took place on June 5th and the mission was originally scheduled to undock on the 22nd. NASA announced shortly afterwards that the return would be postponed to the 26th, as it was evaluating the aforementioned technical failures, and then to July 2nd. All while the hours were being counted off the maximum stay time set at 45 days.

However, the latest news indicates that Starliner astronauts could remain on the ISS for up to 3 months (90 days), as NASA considers it a extension for Boeing to verify safety to undertake the trip return. This was announced by Steve Stich, head of the Space Agency’s Commercial Crew program, who also announced that there is no planned return date.

The technical problems experienced are related to the propulsion systemSpecifically, engineers detected a series of helium leaks on board that prevented the mission from proceeding correctly. This noble gas is used to pressurize the propellants and is essential for them to function as expected.

A joint team from NASA and Boeing is working on it and both entities have announced that they will carry out a series of tests at the White Sands missile field (New Mexico, USA). The objective is test the same type of propellant that equips the Starliner shipfind out what could have happened and how to fix it in space.

“It will be the real opportunity to examine the booster on the ground for a detailed inspection, just as we have already done in space,” Stich said. As soon as the leaks were detected, Boeing modified the software system management to get four of the thrusters working again and proceed with the docking, but one still remains unusable.

This propellant, which remained off, failed for different reasons than the four previous ones. At the moment, it is unknown what type of failure they are facing and whether it will be recoverable in orbit.

It’s about the first manned mission of the Starliner heading to the ISS and belongs to its certification program by NASA. If it is finally successful, Boeing will become the second provider of manned and cargo flights to the Space Station, just as SpaceX already does.

Moments of tension

With the Starliner in a compromised technical situation, alarms went off on the ISS in the early hours of Friday. The United States Space Command detected more than 100 pieces of a Russian satellite heading towards the Space Station and put the crew on alert.

The astronauts had to position themselves in their respective spacecraft in case they had to leave the orbiter and set course for Earth. This is a manoeuvre that is part of the basic training of all cosmonauts and which they have already had to perform on several occasions in recent years.

“NASA instructed crews aboard the Space Station to take shelter in their respective spacecraft as a standard precaution after being informed of the satellite breakup at a nearby altitude,” the ISS said in a statement. “Mission Control continued to monitor the debris path and, after approximately one hour, the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and the Station resumed normal operations.”