NASA officials have stated that they have once again postponed the decision to bring back the stranded Starliner astronauts until the end of August to await a crucial discussion regarding the spacecraft’s flight readiness.
The initial delay was expected to last just 8 days, but numerous leaks and other technical issues encountered by Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on its journey to the International Space Station (ISS) in June have pushed the planned return flight back by more than two months, leaving two astronauts – Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams – stranded in space.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft approaching the International Space Station. (Photo: NASA).
While engineers continue to gather and debate the test results regarding the spacecraft’s issues, NASA leaders are still weighing whether to return the two astronauts on the Starliner or to wait and bring them back via a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in six months.
“This is quite an important discussion to determine whether we will bring the crew back on the Starliner. We hope that the analysis data will be ready for the program board by the middle to the end of next week and will be prepared for the flight readiness assessment around the end of next week,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA’s associate administrator for the Human Spaceflight Operations Directorate, during a press conference on August 14.
Boeing developed the Starliner spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit following the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle program in 2011.
The Starliner was launched on its first crewed test flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5. However, shortly after entering orbit, several faults emerged, including five helium leaks and five failures of the Reaction Control System (RCS).
This forced engineers to troubleshoot from the ground. Tests conducted at the Starliner facility in White Sands, New Mexico, indicated that during the spacecraft’s ascent to the ISS, the Teflon seals inside the five malfunctioning RCS thrusters may have overheated and swelled out of position, obstructing the flow of propellant.
NASA’s primary contingency plan is to return the astronauts on a replacement SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. This vehicle is scheduled to be sent to the ISS as early as September 24, carrying members of the ISS Crew-9, who will replace the current Crew-8 on the space station.
Russ DeLoach, NASA’s director of safety and mission assurance, stated that if the astronauts do not return home on the Starliner, they will have spent about 8 months in orbit. However, despite the issues with the Starliner, NASA confirmed that their astronauts remain safe and comfortable aboard the ISS.
