How Boeing’s Starliner Will Return Its Astronauts to Earth After Technical Failures

WASHINGTON — The two NASA astronauts who launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in early June were originally scheduled to Boeing Starliner spacecraft test flight They returned home a couple of weeks ago. Instead, Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain on the space station for several more weeks with no return date, while NASA and Boeing engineers study the ship’s failed engines.

Problems with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, still docked to the ISS, have disrupted initial plans to return its two astronauts to Earth, with last-minute repairs and testing being delayed. a crucial mission for the future of Boeing’s space division.

NASA He has postponed his planned return three times and now has no set date.Since liftoff on June 5, the capsule has experienced five helium leaks, five maneuvering thrusters have shut down and one booster valve has failed to close completely, causing the crew in space and mission managers in Houston to spend more time than expected trying to find solutions mid-mission. It could take some time “few weeks” further.

NASA and Boeing are asking not to call in trapped or stranded astronauts. And there is no talk of a rescue mission. “We are not stuck on the ISS,” Mark Nappi, Boeing’s Starliner program manager, said at a press conference last Friday. “The crew is not in any danger.”

But there are concerns. Here’s an explanation of how Starliner and its veteran astronauts might evolve.

Starliner can remain on the ISS for up to 45 days.This was announced to reporters by NASA Commercial Crew Director Steve Stich. But if it is absolutely necessary, for example, if new problems arise that mission managers cannot resolve in time, could remain in the dock for up to 72 daysdepending on various backup systems, according to a person familiar with flight planning.

Starliner’s expendable propulsion system is part of the spacecraft’s “service module.” Current issues center on this system, which is needed to propel the capsule away from the ISS and position it for its descent into Earth’s atmosphere. Many of Starliner’s boosters have been overheating during launch, and helium leaks (used to pressurize the boosters) appear to be related to how often they are used, Stich said.

Stich said recent tests of the booster’s performance while Starliner remains docked have given mission teams confidence in a safe return, though testing and inspections are ongoing. The mission management team, made up of NASA and Boeing personnel, is reviewing data on the propulsion system’s problems, running simulations in Houston and considering ways to fix them, such as updating software or changing the way the hardware is used.

Once NASA officials give the team the green light to return, Starliner’s engines will be used to undock the capsule from the ISS and begin the approximately six-hour journey home.gradually adjusting its orbit before plunging into Earth’s atmosphere to land, aided by parachutes and airbags, at one of several potential locations in the southwestern United States.

This is Starliner’s first mission in orbit with astronauts, the final test needed before NASA can certify it as the U.S. space agency’s second mission to the ISS. It will join SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has dominated the nascent private crew spaceflight market amid years of Starliner delays.

Even despite the problems with the power unit. NASA said Starliner would still be able to return astronauts to Earth if absolutely necessary.That is, if the capsule is meant to serve as an escape pod from the ISS in the event of an emergency, or if any of Starliner’s perishable items, such as its solar panels, show signs of expiration earlier than expected.

Unlike the current Starliner mission, NASA did not set a planned return date for the first Crew Dragon mission with astronauts in 2020. That mission ultimately lasted 62 days because the astronauts needed to help with ISS maintenance, as the space station was short-staffed at the time.

If Starliner is found unable to safely return Wilmore and Williams to Earth, youOne option would be to send them home aboard Crew Dragon.which delivered four astronauts to the station in March and can accommodate more people in case of an emergency.

This scenario is considered unlikely.This would, of course, be embarrassing for Boeing.But NASA and Boeing officials, as well as engineers familiar with the program, said nothing about Starliner’s current problems that would indicate that would be necessary.

In this scenario, Starliner’s fate would depend on several factors, including the extent of its technical problems.

The last time a NASA astronaut needed an alternate trip home was in 2022, when a Russian Soyuz capsule suffered a coolant leak after carrying two cosmonauts and U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio to the station. NASA considered Crew Dragon as an alternate route home for Rubio, but ultimately used an empty Soyuz capsule that Russia launched as a recovery ship. Rubio’s mission was extended from six months to just over a year (371 days), a record-breaking length for an American in space.

Fatal disasters in NASA history, including the loss of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, They taught mission administrators to be cautious and curious when something was wrong.

“Since we’re in no rush to get home, it makes sense to take the time to gather as much information as possible to make sure all the problems are resolved. It makes sense to take our time,” Wayne Hale, a former NASA flight director, said in an interview.

Starting this week, Engineers will conduct ground tests at NASA’s White Sands facility in California using a booster identical to those used on Starliner.which will replicate conditions in space. “That will probably take a couple of weeks,” Stich said. “We’ll give engineers a chance to see that booster,” he said. “It’ll be a real opportunity to study the booster like we had in space.”

Engineers won’t be able to directly inspect the spacecraft’s problematic engines while they’re currently in orbit because they’re housed in what’s called a service module. That part will be jettisoned during the flight home and burn up in the atmosphere.

“The test will help us understand the performance of the launch vehicle and can give us 100 percent confidence that everything we saw in orbit is correct,” Stich said. “This is just one more piece of information we can get before we deorbit the vehicle.”

Former NASA officials like Hale have noted that The fact that mission leaders ignored engineers’ concerns contributed to previous fatal accidents.

During Columbia’s launch in January 2003, a piece of foam from the external fuel tank broke off and struck the shuttle’s left wing. Hale, who was about to take a new job as the shuttle’s launch integration manager, called his Defense Department contacts and asked if they could visually inspect the shuttle for damage.

But senior NASA managers were uncurious and advised Hale to call off the request for help. He complied. Unknown to anyone at the time, the foam strike had torn a hole in the wing. On its return to Earth, Columbia broke apart, killing all seven astronauts on board.

“In retrospect, there weren’t enough questions asked in the Columbia case,” Hale said. “It wasn’t taken long enough. And clearly the lesson was learned: You need to take the time to get the fullest answer and answer all the questions that any expert might have.

Reuters and the newspaper New York Times