According to Boeing, there is no race against time to get Starliner flight crew members home from space.
NASA astronauts are not “trapped” and repairs to helium leaks in the propulsion system and the faulty propellant are nearly complete, Boeing told Fox News Digital in an email.
This is good news for astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were aboard the Boeing spacecraft, as well as the success of the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) that began in 2010.
Starliner’s June 5 launch and subsequent return to Earth “is an incredibly important mission,” expert Makena Young said as the US moves away from Russian support for space travel.
WHY BOEING SPACECRAFT’S SUCCESSFUL RETURN IS PART OF ‘MISSION IMPORTANT’
“An aurora stream below Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked in the forward port on the Harmony module as the International Space Station rose 266 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia,” according to NASA. (NASA/Matt Dominick)
Starliner launched the crew from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5 and was scheduled to return to Earth on June 13.
But a series of issues plaguing the spacecraft’s service module extended the astronauts’ stay in space. The Starliner is docked at the International Space Station (ISS), where it can remain for 45 days while repairs are completed.
Boeing added that the spacecraft continues to “perform well in orbit while docked at the space station.”
TRUMP SAYS HE HAS UFO FILES – WHAT WILL HE DO WITH THEM?
Boeing said the helium leaks “are all stable and not a concern for a return mission,” and four of the five thrusters that shut down “are operating normally.”
“This means that only one thruster out of 27 is currently offline,” according to Boeing, which said it “does not present a problem for the return mission.”
NASA Expedition 71 crew members, along with Starliner flight test crew members Suni Williams (front row left) and Butch Wilmore (front row right). (NASA)
If the issues are resolved, what is keeping Williams and Wilmore in space?
Boeing said it is collecting data to fully understand what went wrong after the troubled service module jettisoned when the crew left the ISS and burned up in the atmosphere during re-entry.
SPACE JUNK FLIES INTO US FAMILY’S HOME WITH PEOPLE INSIDE: LEGAL ACTION AGAINST NASA
“The helium and propellant systems will not return to Earth for failure analysis, so Boeing and NASA have extended the mission in order to collect more data,” Boeing said.
“There is no time required for the crew to leave the station as there are plenty of supplies in orbit and the station’s schedule is relatively open until mid-August.”
NASA did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital.
In this handout photo provided by NASA, astronaut Rick Mastracchio, STS-118 mission specialist, participates in the mission’s third scheduled extravehicular activity session as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station on August 15, 2007. (NASA via Getty Images)
Why this mission is vital
Boeing and the Elon Musk-funded SpaceX programs are key players in NASA’s CCP, which will allow NASA to send astronauts and cargo to the ISS without relying on Russia.
Young, a fellow with the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said NASA paid Russia almost $2 billion to get 30 astronauts to the ISS and back after the shuttle was pulled. in 2011.
WATCH: THE EXACT TWO ALIENS ‘TRY TO HOLD BLACK PEOPLE’: CRIME SCENE RECONSTRUCTION EXPERT
Instead of paying the “high price” to an adversary country, NASA turned to private American companies to get people and people to the space station.
“This is an incredibly important mission,” Young said.
“These delays seem like a bad thing and can erode the confidence you have in the system … but you really want to make sure there’s no question in your mind when you say, ‘OK, yeah, this is ready to release people.’ “.
WATCH: FOX NEWS REPORT ON NASA’S LATEST SHUTTLE PROGRAM
This was Boeing’s inaugural mission to bring humans to the ISS, while SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has had several successful journeys.
This exact situation illustrates the need to have at least two reliable options for getting to and from the ISS, Young said.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“It’s a great point to make, too, that these astronauts are not stranded because NASA has this other system that’s reliable and proven,” Young said.
“That’s why NASA always has a redundancy, so if something goes wrong with one program, the other is able to step in easily.”