NASA officials said that despite an undetermined delay in returning to Earth, the crew of the Boeing Starliner stranded on the International Space Station due to mechanical problems with their spacecraft was “not stranded” in space.
Starliner commander Butch Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams were trapped on the space station for weeks after their June 5 launch on Boeing’s first manned space flight.
They were due to return on June 13 after a week on the station – but the ship had problems with its thrusters and helium leaks while docking with the station, keeping them in orbit indefinitely while engineers analyze the problems.
“We don’t have a targeted (landing) date today,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, told reporters during a teleconference, CBS reported. “We will not target a specific date until we have completed testing.
“Essentially, it’s to complete the testing, complete the fault tree, take that analysis to the (mission management team) and then do an agency-level review. And then we lay out the rest of the plan from drop off to landing. I think we’re on the right track.”
The Starliner spacecraft’s return module is attached to the Harmony module on the ISS, but Harmony has a limited amount of fuel, narrowing the window for the return date.
The Boeing’s service module, which houses helium lines, thrusters and other critical systems, ejects and burns up in the atmosphere before re-entry, according to CBS.
Engineers want to examine failed systems and hardware before they are destroyed and collect as much data as possible before the astronauts return home.
Stich and Mark Nappi, Boeing’s Starliner program manager, insisted that Wilmore and Williams were in no way stranded or in danger, despite the media’s characterization of what was happening.
“It’s pretty painful to read the stuff that’s out there,” Nappi said. “We’ve had a really good test flight…and it’s being perceived rather negatively.” We are not stuck on the ISS. There is no danger to the crew and no increased risk when we decide to bring Suni and Butch back to Earth.’
Stich added that he wanted to “make it clear that Butch and Suni are not stuck in space.
“Our plan is to continue to return them to the Starliner and bring them home at the right time,” he assured. “We’ll still have some work to do to get there for the final return, but they’re safe on the space station. Their spaceship is working well and they are enjoying their time on the space station.’
The Starliner launched with one known helium leak, but four more developed as the craft attempted to dock. On the station, valves are closed to cut off the helium system to prevent further leakage.
But when they leave, the valves must be reopened to repressurize the pipeline, CBS reported.
Even with the known leaks, the capsule still has 10 times the amount of helium it needs to get home — but engineers want to make sure the leaks don’t get worse once the system is pressurized, according to Stich.
The five thrusters in the Starliner’s service module also did not work as expected during the approach to the space station on June 6, but are ready for departure.
A new, identical nozzle will be tested at NASA’s New Mexico facility early next week to see what might have gone wrong.
Ground tests are expected to last “a few weeks”.
Boeing has been plagued by a number of problems in recent years. In January, a fuselage plug blew off Alaskan Airlines’ new Boeing 737 MAX-9 at 10,000 feet. Their 737 MAX planes also suffered crashes in 2018 and 2019.