After helium leaks and propellant problems with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, NASA has pushed back the return date from the International Space Station.
On Friday, the agency announced that they no longer had a scheduled return date. Instead, they will continue to test the capsule, trying to understand its problems and see if they can make any adjustments. Plenty of supplies are on the station, so there is no immediate need to bring the two astronauts back to Earth.
NASA decided to cancel the launch scheduled for Wednesday, June 26 due to conflicting timelines with a series of planned spacewalks to the ISS, set for today (Monday, June 24) and Tuesday, July 2. The delay also allows mission teams to review propulsion and system data.
After years of delays and two aborted final launch attempts, Starliner finally launched on June 5, 2024 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board.
Although two of the spacecraft’s thrusters failed in flight, the spacecraft managed to reach the ISS and delivered 227 kg (500 lbs) of cargo. Additionally, five small leaks in the service module were also discovered, and crew and ground teams worked through security checks.
“We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program in a NASA blog post.
“We are allowing the data to guide our decision-making regarding the management of the small helium system leaks and propellant performance that we observed during rendezvous and docking. Additionally, given the duration of the mission, it is appropriate that we to complete an agency-wide review similar to what was done prior to the return of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 after two months in orbit, to document the agency’s formal acceptance to proceed as planned.”
This first crewed flight of the Starliner was intended to validate the spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), with the hope that it would work alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to perform regular cargo deliveries and crew on the ISS.
This mission is the second time the Starliner has flown to the ISS and the third flight test overall. During the first uncrewed test flight (OFT-1), which took place in December 2019, the Starliner successfully launched, but failed to reach the ISS.
After completing the 61 corrective actions recommended by NASA, another attempt (OFT-2) was made on May 22, 2022. That flight successfully docked with the ISS, remaining there for four days before detaching and landing in orbit. of White Sands rockets in New Mexico. .
Wilmore and Williams are now working with the Expedition 71 crew, assisting with station operations as needed and completing additional in-flight objectives for NASA’s Starliner certification.
Stich said that despite all the problems, Starliner is performing well in orbit while docked at the space station.
“We’re strategically using the extra time to clear a path for some critical station activities as we complete readiness for Butch and Suni’s return to Starliner,” he said, “and gain valuable insight into the system upgrades we’ll want.” to do missions after certification”.
Mission managers will evaluate future return options for Starliner, and NASA said it will hold a media teleconference with mission leadership after a readiness review.
NASA added that the Starliner is actually cleared for an emergency return to the space station that would require the crew to leave orbit and return to Earth.
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.