The abstract
- The two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station in Boeing’s Starliner space capsule stayed there longer than expected.
- After several previous delays, NASA has again postponed the date of its return trip to Earth on Friday.
- The reason for the changes is an investigation into problems with the spacecraft that occurred earlier during the flight.
The two NASA astronauts who flew to the International Space Station on Boeing’s Starliner capsule earlier this month have remained in orbit much longer than expected – and will continue to do so, NASA and Boeing say.
The original plan for this first manned test flight of the Starliner called for veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to spend about a week on the space station before returning to Earth in the capsule. They arrived at the orbiting outpost on June 6.
But their return trip has been postponed several times. NASA initially suggested June 18 as the earliest date for the astronauts to return, then the agency said the return flight would take place on June 22. Then that date was pushed back to June 26, and the latest postponement, announced on Friday, pushed the planned landing back to a new date that has not yet been determined.
The reason for the adjustments, NASA said, is an investigation into problems with the capsule that surfaced earlier in the flight. The spacecraft’s propulsion system has a slow helium leak – something mission managers knew about before launch. At the time, they said it was unlikely to affect the test flight or the safety of the astronauts, but when the spacecraft reached orbit, four more helium leaks were detected.
Additionally, as the Starliner spacecraft approached the space station on June 6, five of its engines malfunctioned, delaying its final approach by just over an hour.
NASA and Boeing officials said they would continue to monitor these issues as they plan the capsule’s return.
“We are taking our time and following our standard process for mission management teams,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, in a statement. “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.”
The Starliner’s test flight to the International Space Station is intended to demonstrate that the vehicle can safely transport astronauts to low Earth orbit and back, and to test its various systems in space.
The launch of the capsule was also delayed several times before it finally took off on June 5 – years late and far over the original budget.
NASA officials indicated in a blog post that while no date has been set for the astronauts’ return, it could occur after a planned spacewalk at the International Space Station on July 2.
There are enough supplies on the space station to accommodate the visitors and there is no need to rush their departure, officials said.
Stich said NASA will conduct a comprehensive review before giving the green light to undock the capsule.
Wilmore and Williams currently live on the ISS with seven crew members who have previously been stationed there: NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy Dyson and Jeanette Epps, and Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin and Oleg Kononenko.
During their extended stay in space, Wilmore and Williams will assist with tasks on the space station and conduct further tests as part of NASA’s Starliner certification process for future missions.
“The feedback from the crew has been overwhelmingly positive, and they know that everything we learn 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 a statement.
Boeing hopes to eventually operate routine flights to and from the space station for NASA, similar to the commercial service SpaceX has been offering the agency with its Crew Dragon capsule since 2020.