After helium leaks and problems with the thrusters of Boeing’s Starliner capsule, NASA has postponed the return date of the International Space Station.
On Friday, the agency announced that it no longer has a planned return date. Instead, they will continue to test the capsule, try to understand its problems and see if they can find solutions. There are plenty of supplies on the station, so there is no urgent need to return the two astronauts to Earth.
NASA has decided to cancel the scheduled Wednesday, June 26 departure due to conflicting timelines with a series of planned spacewalks on the ISS scheduled for today (Monday, June 24) and Tuesday, July 2. The delay also gives mission teams time to review propulsion and system data.
After years of delays and two recent failed 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 during flight, the spacecraft managed to reach the ISS and deliver 227 kg (500 lbs) of cargo. In addition, five minor leaks in the service module were also discovered and the crew and ground team carried out safety 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 letting the data guide our decision-making regarding the management of the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during the rendezvous and docking. Additionally, given the duration of the mission, it is appropriate that we complete an agency-level 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 Starliner was to validate the spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), in the hope that it would work alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to regularly deliver cargo and crew to the ISS.
This mission marks the second time the Starliner has flown to the ISS and the third test flight overall. During the first unmanned test flight (OFT-1), which took place in December 2019, the Starliner launched successfully but failed to reach the ISS.
After completing 61 corrective actions recommended by NASA, another attempt was made on May 22, 2022 (OFT-2). That flight successfully arrived at the ISS and remained there for four days before undocking and landing at the White Sands Missile Range 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 certification of Starliner.
Stich said that despite all the problems, Starliner performs well in orbit while docked with the space station.
“We are using the additional time strategically to clear a path for some critical station activities while we complete preparations for Butch and Suni’s return to Starliner,” he said, “and gain valuable insight into the system upgrades we want for post-certification missions.”
Mission managers will evaluate future return options for Starliner, and NASA said they will host a media telecon with mission leadership after a readiness assessment.
NASA added that Starliner is actually cleared to return in the event of an emergency on 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.