Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are facing delays in returning from the International Space Station due to ongoing issues with their Boeing capsule. The astronauts were originally scheduled to return in mid-June after a week-long visit, but problems with thruster failures and helium leaks have extended their stay.
NASA and Boeing are working to address the issues with the Starliner capsule before setting a new return date for the astronauts. Mission managers are focused on ensuring a safe return for Wilmore and Williams aboard the Starliner.
While no return date has been announced yet, NASA is considering backup options, including using SpaceX’s Dragon capsule for transportation to and from the space station.
Engineers have been conducting tests on a spare thruster to determine the cause of the failures that occurred during the capsule’s approach to the space station. Additional testing will be done while the capsule is docked to gather more data on the thruster performance.
Boeing’s Mark Nappi mentioned that degraded seals are believed to be the cause of the helium leaks and thruster problems. The team is working on analyzing the issues to prevent similar issues in future flights.
After the retirement of the space shuttles, NASA turned to private companies like Boeing and SpaceX for astronaut transportation to the space station. Boeing’s Starliner capsule is facing challenges on its first crewed test flight, while SpaceX has been successfully ferrying astronauts since 2020.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets have recently been grounded due to an upper-stage failure, which could potentially cause delays in upcoming crew flights. Both NASA and the private companies involved are working diligently to ensure the safety and success of future missions.
By Marcia Dunn
