Boeing and NASA are once again “adjusting” the return of two astronauts from the International Space Station with the Starliner spacecraft.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were scheduled to stay on the ISS for only a week after docking there on June 6. They are now expected to begin their journey to Earth no earlier than early July, after two spacewalks were planned and reported problems with the spacecraft continue to be investigated, Boeing said in a June 21 update.
The space agencies have not yet announced a new return date, after previously saying the astronauts could return on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Here’s what we know:
Starliner return delayed due to spacewalks and checking for problems with the spacecraft
Postponing the Starliner’s undocking and landing to Wednesday will “overlap with a number of planned (ISS) spacewalks and give mission teams time to review propulsion system data,” the aerospace company said in the update.
The spacewalks were scheduled for Monday and July 2, NASA and Boeing said, meaning the astronauts would not return until the spacewalks were completed. The spacewalk scheduled for Monday was canceled due to a spacesuit issue. NASA has not yet provided any details on how this will affect the planned spacewalk schedule or whether it will further delay the astronauts’ return.
USA TODAY contacted Boeing, which referred questions to NASA. USA TODAY contacted NASA Monday morning but has not yet received a response.
The crew is also checking some problems with the Starliner spacecraft.
“We are taking our time and following our standard process for mission management teams,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said in the update. “We are letting the data guide our decisions regarding how to handle the small leaks in the helium system and engine performance we observed during rendezvous and docking.”
Stitch also said that an “agency-level review” was necessary due to the duration of the mission, comparing it to what was done before NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 returned after it spent two months in orbit.
US spacewalk 90 canceled
Although NASA and Boeing had postponed the return of the Starliner to make room for the spacewalks, the 90th U.S. spacewalk was canceled Monday morning because of “a water leak in the service and cooling supply unit on NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson’s spacesuit,” according to NASA.
The water leak was discovered after Dyson and astronaut Mike Barratt switched their suits to battery power on Monday morning, NASA said.
The spacewalk was originally scheduled for June 14, but was postponed due to an “uncomfortable spacesuit issue.”
According to NASA, the spacewalk was designed to “remove a faulty electronics box from a communications antenna on the space station’s starboard truss.” The astronauts also collected samples for analysis to “understand the ability of microorganisms to survive and reproduce outside the orbiting laboratory,” the government agency said.
Are the astronauts stuck in space?
While Wilmore and Williams’ return home continues to be delayed, Boeing said there are still enough supplies for the astronauts and the station’s schedule is “relatively open until mid-August.” In the event of an emergency on the ISS, the Starliner has clearance to deorbit and return to Earth, the company added.
Boeing added that the crew was under “no time pressure to depart” as the astronauts continued to assist with station operations as needed and meet NASA’s additional flight objectives.
“The feedback from the crew has been overwhelmingly positive, and they know that every bit of learning we gain during Crew Flight Test will improve and sharpen our experience for future crews,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Starliner program, in the June 21 press release.
“Starliner is performing well in orbit while docked to the space station,” Stich said. “We are using the extra time strategically to clear the way for some critical station activities while we complete preparations for Butch and Suni’s return to Starliner and gain valuable insight into the system upgrades we plan to make for post-certification missions.”
Problems with the Boeing Starliner, including helium leaks
Helium leaks and a faulty engine valve prevented the Starliner from launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 5. The same problems appear to still be affecting the spacecraft weeks later.
There have been a number of helium leaks in the Starliner’s propulsion system, Stich said during a media conference call on June 18. Five leaks have been discovered so far since the Starliner docked with the ISS, he added.
“The way forward is to continue to observe the helium system to understand what is happening. We will again look at simulations for the remainder of the flight … and then the operational techniques to control the helium system,” Stich said.
Another problem is the faulty thruster valve, which was still offline on June 15. However, Stich said the crew did not plan to use it on the return flight out of an “abundance of caution.” According to Stich, the valve went offline due to the extreme heat generated when the thruster system fired “in rapid succession” to keep the Starliner on course for the space station.