In an update released late Friday night, NASA said it was “adjusting” the date for the Starliner spacecraft’s return to Earth from June 26 to an unspecified date in July.
The announcement followed two days of lengthy meetings to assess the readiness of the Boeing-developed spacecraft to fly NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth. Sources said those meetings included senior agency officials, including Deputy Administrator Jim Free.
This “Crew Flight Test,” which launched on an Atlas V rocket on June 5, was originally scheduled to undock and return to Earth on June 14. But as NASA and Boeing engineers examined data from the vehicle’s troubled flight to the International Space Station, they have discarded several return options.
They did so again on Friday evening, arguing that more time would need to be spent verifying the data.
“We are taking our time”
“We are taking our time and following our standard process for mission management teams,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, in the NASA update. “We are letting the data guide our decisions regarding how to handle the small leaks in the helium system and engine performance that we observed during rendezvous and docking.”
Only on Tuesday did NASA and Boeing officials set June 26 as the return to Earth date. But before that, mission managers held a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday to review findings on two significant problems with the Starliner spacecraft: five separate leaks in the helium system that pressurizes Starliner’s propulsion system and the failure of five of the spacecraft’s 28 reaction control system thrusters as Starliner approached the station.
The NASA update did not provide information about deliberations during those meetings, but it is clear that agency leaders were unable to familiarize themselves with all the eventualities Wilmore and Williams might encounter during a return flight to Earth, including safely undocking from the space station, maneuvering away, conducting a deorbit burn, separating the crew capsule from the service module and then flying through the planet’s atmosphere before parachuting into a New Mexico desert.
Spaceship has a limit of 45 days
Now, NASA and Boeing engineering teams will take their time. According to sources, NASA is considering June 30 as a possible return date, but the agency is also interested in conducting two spacewalks outside the station. Those spacewalks, currently scheduled for June 24 and July 2, will now go ahead. Starliner will return to Earth some time later, probably no earlier than July 4.
“We are using the additional time strategically to clear the way for some critical station activities while completing preparations for Butch and Suni’s return with the Starliner and gaining valuable insight into the system updates we plan to perform for post-certification missions,” Stich said.
In some ways, keeping Starliner docked to the space station for a longer period of time is helpful for NASA and Boeing. They can collect more data on the vehicle’s performance on long-duration missions—eventually, Starliner will fly operational missions that allow astronauts to stay in orbit for six months at a time.
But that vehicle is only designed for a 45-day stay on the space station, and that clock started ticking on June 6. Moreover, it’s not optimal that NASA feels the need to further delay the vehicle’s launch to familiarize itself with its performance on the return trip to Earth. During two press conferences since Starliner docked with the station, officials have downplayed the overall seriousness of these issues — repeatedly saying Starliner is cleared to return “in an emergency.” But they haven’t yet offered a full explanation for why they’re not yet comfortable clearing Starliner to return to Earth under normal circumstances.