Boeing and NASA Stop Updating Return Date

Butch Wilmore and Suni William will spend more time in space than originally expected. Starliner shipwhich they brought to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6, will continue to dock with the orbiting lab indefinitely. That doesn’t mean the spacecraft will stay there forever, but rather that both Boeing and NASA have decided to adjust their plans and conduct a series of additional checks.

The news was announced at a press conference last Friday, where mission officials said the crew was not stranded in space and that the capsule was safe. Steve Stich, head of NASA’s commercial crew program, said Starliner was available and could return to Earth in an emergency, but they were considering extending its return beyond the original 45-day limit.

More time to study Starliner failures

As we’ve seen over the past few weeks, Starliner’s first crewed flight was not without its problems. Boeing chose to launch the craft aboard an Atlas V rocket with small helium leaks, a problem that worsened after liftoff. Despite this, Starliner was able to dock with the ISS and the astronauts on board arrived safely at the orbital laboratory with the intention of staying there for about a week.

And that can’t be. The ship was initially announced to return on June 26, but the US space agency later cancelled the plan with no clear date on the horizon. The reason for this delay is nothing more than the desire to make the most of the ship in its current state, to study all its faults through tests in space and in parallel with ground tests at NASA facilities, particularly at the White Sands Test Site.

One of the issues they are focusing on is helium leakage, although this is not a problem for the return of the ship, which has enough gas and a backup system. Also, during the docking with the ISS, the circuit is closed, so There are no leaks at the moment“We did a leak test on Saturday, June 15, and the leak rate actually went down in all of the sewers, the five that were leaking,” Stich said.

The team is also focusing on analyzing the propulsion system, which failed during the first attempt to dock with the ISS (the second docking was successful). Recent ground tests are being evaluated, as well as contingency scenarios being worked out to ensure that the spacecraft’s backup systems are operational if they are needed during Starliner’s return.

As we speak, although the ship is ready to return, the return date for Wilmore and William has not been determined. NASA says that once all necessary tests are completed, they will update the landing plan.We don’t have a specific date today.“It’s not clear yet whether the agency will extend the mission beyond the 45-day limit set by the crew module’s batteries.

In any case, Starliner is designed to stay in space for much longer if needed. Now, one question that might arise in this scenario is why the tests aren’t conducted with the ship on the ground when it lands. This is because the ship’s service module, where the propulsion system is located, is not reusable and is lost upon return to Earth. A new service module is used on each mission.

Images | NASA (1, 2, 3, 4)

In Hataka | Latest Asteroid Discovered by NASA Hangs ‘Close’ to Earth: Mass the Size of the Pyramid of Giza