NASA engineers on Earth are scrambling to diagnose the issues at Boeing's Starliner as two astronauts remain stranded at the International Space Station (ISS).
Safety Issues on Crew Flight Test
On June 5, Starliner's Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission sent astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the orbital lab through the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The goal of the mission was to prove the end-to-end capabilities of the crewed Starliner system.
One of the goals of the Crew Flight Test was to carry astronauts and payloads for future NASA missions to low Earth orbit and beyond. It also aims to certify the spacecraft for routine space travel to and from the International Space Station.
After years of repeated delays, the capsule successfully launched its inaugural crewed flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. During the 25-hour flight, however, experts found five separate helium leaks in the spacecraft's thruster system.
Delayed Return Flight
Wilmore and Williams were initially scheduled to stay docked in the International Space Station for nine days and were expected to return to Earth on June 13. However, they may remain aboard the ISS for much longer than originally planned due to the ongoing issues in the spacecraft.
According to Boeing's Starliner program manager Mark Nappi, their team found out that the helium system is not performing as designed. Although the issue is manageable, it was not working as intended, so they need to figure it out.
Aside from the helium leaks that pressurizes the propulsion system of the spacecraft, the engineers also discovered five thruster failures to its reaction-control system. The return module of Boeing Starliner remains docked to the Harmony module of the orbital post as the engineers assess the important hardware issues.
After the thrusters were powered up by NASA engineers on June 15, it was found that most of these issues were partially resolved. Still, the exact causes of the malfunction remain unknown.
On June 21, NASA announced that troubleshooting for Starliner has been extended for a third time. This is to give engineers enough time to troubleshoot the malfunctioning components.
This means that the two astronauts aboard the International Space Station will extend their station to the orbital post for at least three weeks, or may be indefinitely until some time in July.
According to NASA, the crew will return home no sooner than June 26.
However, the Harmony module has limited fuel, which will allow the Starliner to stay docked in the orbital post for only 45 days. This means that the window for a safe return flight is narrowing.
Experts believe that NASA could be forced to lift off a rescue mission to safely bring Wilmore and Williams home. The space agency can also seek the help of an alternative spacecraft like SpaceX's Crew Dragon, to carry it out.
Starliner's undocking and return to Earth are considered as the most complicated phases of the spacecraft's test mission. NASA officials said that they want to better understand the cause of the helium leaks, valve issue, and thruster failure before Starliner begins its return flight.
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