NASA and Boeing officials dismissed headlines Friday that the commercial Starliner crew capsule was stranded at the International Space Station. However, they said they need more time to analyze the data before formally allowing the spacecraft to undock and reenter the atmosphere.
Two NASA astronauts, Commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams, will spend at least a few more weeks on the space station while engineers on the ground conduct thrust tests to better understand problems with the Starliner propulsion system in orbit. Wilmore and Williams launched aboard an Atlas V rocket on June 5 and docked at the station the next day, completing the first segment of Starliner’s first test flight with astronauts.
NASA managers had originally planned for the Starliner spacecraft to remain docked at the space station for at least eight days, though they left open the possibility of a mission extension. The test flight will now likely last at least a month and a half, and possibly longer, as engineers grapple with helium leaks and thrust issues in the Starliner’s service module.
The batteries in this Starliner spacecraft were initially only certified for a 45-day mission duration, but NASA officials said they are considering extending the limit after confirming the batteries are functioning properly.
“We have the luxury of time,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. “We’re still in the middle of a test mission. We’re still moving forward.”
Previously, NASA and Boeing officials delayed Starliner’s return and landing from mid-June, then from June 26, and now they’ve sidestepped a potential landing opportunity in early July. Last week, NASA said in a statement that the agency’s top leadership would meet to formally review Starliner’s readiness for return, something that wasn’t part of the original plan.
“We are not stuck on ISS”
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program, said Friday he wanted to clear up “misunderstandings” that led to headlines claiming the Starliner spacecraft was stuck or stranded on the space station.
“I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,” Stich said. “Our plan is to send them back on Starliner and bring them home at the right time. We have a little bit more work to do to get there for the final return, but they are safe on the space station.”
With Starliner now docked, the space station is currently home to three different spacecraft, including SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Russia’s Soyuz. There are no serious plans to bring Wilmore and Williams home on another spaceship.
“Of course we have the luxury of having multiple vehicles and we are working on contingency plans for a variety of different situations, but right now we are primarily focused on getting Butch and Suni back on the Starliner,” Stich said.
“We’re not stuck on the ISS,” said Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president in charge of the Starliner program. “It’s quite painful to read what’s coming out. We’ve had a very good test flight conducted so far, and it’s being viewed quite negatively.”
Stich said NASA officials should “interact more frequently” with reporters to fill gaps in information about the Starliner test flight. NASA’s written updates are not always timely and often lack detail and context.
NASA officials have approved the Starliner spacecraft for an emergency return to Earth if astronauts need to evacuate the space station for safety or medical reasons. But NASA has not yet approved Starliner for reentry and landing under “nominal” conditions.
“If there is an emergency, we are ready to put the crew on the spacecraft and bring them home as a lifeboat,” Bowersox said. “For the nominal submission, we want to look at the data more closely before we make the final decision to put the crew on the vehicle, and it is a call that is serious enough to bring the senior management team together (for approval).