Starliner Astronauts Trapped in Space
Starliner capsule crew They are trapped in space with no return date. Boeing has confirmed that the astronauts They will spend the entire summer aboard the International Space Station.The mission, originally scheduled for eight days, was extended due to technical problems and now includes a flight in September.
NASA has provided an update on the Starliner mission. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said that while they don’t have a set date for the astronauts to return, Significant progress has been made in the bug fixing process.. Stitch explained the changes made to the maneuvering engines, which was one of the three malfunctions of the space capsule.
On the other hand, Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s commercial crew program, noted that Various tests were conducted to detect helium leaks.Nappi added that they decided they could conduct additional analysis while the capsule was docked with the International Space Station.
While Boeing believes the mission is complete and the process has been learned, the question is what will happen to the two astronauts. NASA has stated that Starliner can stay in space for another 90 daysThe space agency said the goal is to get them back, but first they have to iron out any errors.
“I wish we had said we were going to stay there until we got everything we wanted done,” Stich said. The Boeing manager added that They knew the mission would take longer than they thought.but they didn’t report it.
What Happens If Boeing Doesn’t Repair Starliner
One of the key questions they asked NASA and Boeing was about the contingency plan. While engineers are making progress with their analysis and modeling, there is a chance they won’t be able to solve Starliner’s problems. With that in mind, NASA mentions that They have a plan B to get the astronauts back..
“One of the benefits of this program is that we have two different systems,” Mark Nappi said. “Plan B is to use the second system. I’d rather not get into the details until we get to that point, but the beauty of having Dragon and Starliner is that we can use them as backups.”
One more detail Boeing works against timeas Starliner’s presence on the International Space Station will impact the mission schedule. NASA said it would give Boeing engineers the time they need to conduct the tests. The problems will likely be fixed by the day of the ISS crew change.
In front of Boeing’s eyes, astronauts are not trapped in space. In the event of an emergency, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would be able to return to Earth without any problems. The 90-day extension does not mean that is how long it will take to repair the capsule, since Boeing may receive it sooner.