The return date of the Boeing Starliner 3 crew to the International Space Station has not yet been set as astronauts continue to test and work on problems inside the capsule, the Associated Press reports.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, stated, “We are in no rush to bring Starliner home.”
After launching on June 5, which was supposed to last 10 days, the Boeing Starliner encountered leaks of helium and engine problems during docking with the ISS on June 6.
Boeing and NASA management emphasize that the spacecraft is stable and ready to leave the ISS in the event of an emergency. However, after testing the engines in space, NASA and Boeing decided to spend more time investigating the root cause of the malfunctions.
The test campaign will begin on July 2 at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico to recreate the performance of the engines in flight. The testing will take about two weeks, but it depends on the results, and further analysis will be required after that. Thus, NASA and Boeing do not yet have a date for the Starliner’s return.
“We’re not going to plan a specific date until we’ve completed testing and explored the fault tree,” Stich said.
Additional tests and an inspection of the helium supply and five of the 28 engines showed that the leak had stabilized and most engines were recovering. However, NASA and Boeing decided not to use at least one of these engines due to performance issues.
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“Once it’s all done, we’ll meet up and make sure we’ve done everything we need to understand the problem and the state of the system, and then we’ll go home safely,” said Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president and commercial crew program manager.
Nappi emphasized that it is not yet possible to say exactly when the return will take place. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams know this is a test flight, so the delay was not a surprise to them, he said.
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According to unofficial information, the new return date may be set for July 6, which will mean a month’s stay for the astronauts in space instead of the planned week.
NASA officials claim that the Starliner can remain on the ISS for up to 45 days. But in cases of urgent need, he can stay there for up to 72 days, relying on various backup systems. If Starliner is deemed unable to safely return astronauts to Earth, one option would be to send them home aboard the Russian company’s Crew Dragon, which delivered four astronauts to the station in March and is capable of carrying more people in an emergency.
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