Starliner astronauts’ space stay extended indefinitely after 51 days of launch

After 51 days of launch, the astronauts aboard the Boeing Starliner are now facing an indefinite stay in space. Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were initially scheduled for a 10-day space mission. However, engineers have yet to fully resolve a thruster malfunction.

Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said that he currently doesn’t have any confirmation to announce a return date for astronauts.

“We don’t have a major announcement today relative to a return date. We’re making great progress, but we’re just not quite ready to do that,” Stich said during a joint conference call on Thursday.

Spacecraft yet not fit to return to Earth

Docked at the International Space Station since early June, the Boeing spacecraft is yet not fit to return to Earth.

Last week, engineers conducted tests on a spare thruster in the New Mexico desert to investigate the issues encountered during docking and to prepare for the return journey. On June 6, the day after liftoff, five thrusters malfunctioned as the capsule neared the space station. Four of these thrusters have since been reactivated, according to Newsweek .

Officials have maintained that degraded seals are likely causing the helium leaks and thruster issues. Boeing’s team is expected to test-fire the thrusters soon to get more details about the Starliner’s condition.

Williams and Wilmore were expected to return to Earth on June 14, but their homecoming was delayed indefinitely due to the thruster malfunction.

Developed in collaboration with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Boeing’s Starliner was designed to accommodate seven passengers, or a mix of crew and cargo, for missions to low-Earth orbit.

For NASA service missions to the International Space Station, it will carry up to four NASA-sponsored crew members and time-critical scientific research. The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time. It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces.

Six weeks before helium system was checked

“It’s been six weeks since we last checked that helium system; that was on June 15. So we’ll pressurize manifold by manifold, and then hot-fire the thrusters, and then we’ll get a chance to look at the helium leak rates and verify that the system is stable,” said Stich.

According to Boeing, helium is used to pressurize the spacecraft’s reaction control system (RCS) maneuvering thrusters, allowing them to fire.

The behavior of Starliner RCS thrusters in orbit seems to match what is being observed on the ground, added Stich.

“The thruster type, has heritage” from other spaceflight programs at Aerojet (an L3Harris company), but was modified for Starliner’s service module, where the RCS thrusters and propulsion system are housed,” Stich told Space.com .