NASA has delayed the return of two astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) for a third time, raising fears the crew could be “stranded”.
Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams were originally scheduled for a nine-day stint that was postponed twice this month and is now on an undetermined date.
The extended stay is intended to allow more time to review technical problems encountered by the capsule during its journey to the ISS, which included thruster failures and leaking valves, Boeing said in a statement.
DailyMail.com spoke to experts who said NASA could be forced to launch a rescue mission and could use Elon Musk’s SpaceX to carry it out.
Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams were originally scheduled for a nine-day stay, but NASA has revealed that it is now on an unspecified date
Katsuo Kurabayashi, a professor of aerospace engineering at New York University, said: “Given the current situation with Starliner, it is possible that NASA will decide to use an alternative spacecraft, such as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, to return the astronauts home safely.
“As far as I can tell at this stage, the recent mission delay for July alone should not raise serious concerns leading to another very challenging rescue mission or future abandonment of Starliner-based missions.”
“But if they happen to start talking about a rescue mission, that would mean there are some serious, potentially life-threatening hardware defects found with the Starliner.”
The return of the astronauts was first postponed to June 14, and last week it was rescheduled to June 26.
NASA said its officials are evaluating return dates after the station’s two planned spacewalks on June 24 and July 2 — hoping to return the two astronauts to Earth no later than early July.
Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said: “We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process.
“We let the data guide our decision-making regarding the management of the small helium system leaks and thruster performance that we observed during rendezvous and docking.
“Furthermore, given the length of the mission, it is appropriate for us to 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 formal acceptance of the agency of continues as planned.’
The extended layoff is intended to allow more time to review technical issues that have arisen, including thruster failures and leaking valves, Boeing said in a statement
Starliner experienced five failures of its 28 maneuverable thrusters, five leaks of the helium gas intended to hermetically propel those thrusters, and a slow-moving propellant valve that signaled unfixed past problems after launch
The Starliner lifted off June 5 at 10:52 a.m. ET from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida last week with the same leak that required a cleanup in May.
However, the capsule fired with some leakage, reportedly no bigger than a shirt button and quite thin.
Stich said last month that he was confident 27 of those 28 thrusters were working properly, with no leaks or other problems.
However, the Starliner encountered five failures of its 28 maneuverable thrusters, five leaks of the helium gas intended to insulate those thrusters, and a slow-moving fuel valve that signaled unfixed past problems after launch.
When the Starliner came close to the space station to dock on June 6, five thruster failures prevented the spacecraft from making a close approach until Boeing made a fix.
He rewrote the software and changed some procedures to revive four of them and proceed with docking.
The Starliner’s undocking and return to Earth represent the spacecraft’s most complex phases of its test mission.
Boeing has spent $1.5 billion in cost overruns over its $4.5 billion NASA development contract.
NASA officials said they want to better understand the cause of the thruster failures, the valve problem and the helium leaks before the Starliner begins its return.
While only one thruster remains dead on the Starliner’s current flight, Boeing encountered problems with four thrusters during the unmanned capsule’s return from space in 2022.
The leak, which prompted a cleanup in May, raised concerns among a NASA contractor who called on the space agency to “redouble safety checks and review safety protocols to make sure the Starliner is safe before something catastrophic happens.”
The Starliner lifted off June 5 at 10:52 a.m. ET from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida last week with the same leak that required a cleanup in May
Erin Faville, president of ValveTech, expressed concern about the launch this month, telling DailyMail.com: “I warned. I will choose to let it play out.
Although NASA and Boeing didn’t seem concerned about the initial leak, Mike Gruntman, an astronautics professor at the University of Southern California, suggested the problems stemmed from manufacturing issues.
“Multiple similar problems – helium leaks – with seemingly similar components as reported in the press point to a systemic problem with design or manufacturing or testing or systems engineering or a combination of these,” he told DailyMail.com.
Gruntman also said that “it is more likely that SpaceX will be able to provide an additional launch in the foreseeable future to return the astronauts.”
The Starliner’s problems come on the heels of a series of problems plaguing Boeing’s commercial jets.
A Boeing jet suffered a rare Dutch roll at 32,000 feet mid-flight last month, causing it to be taken out of service.
The Southwest Airlines flight, Southwest Flight 746, was flying with 175 passengers from Phoenix to Oakland on May 25 when it experienced the horrific Dutch rollover.
A Dutch roll is the name given to the combination of a yaw motion when the tail drags and the aircraft swings from wing tip to wing tip. It is said to imitate the movement of a Dutch figure skater.
That same month, Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 experienced fatal “turbulence” that involved proximity to tropical thunderstorms.
The Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 departed London Heathrow Airport at 22:17 local time with 211 passengers and 18 crew on board.
However, the turbulence caused several injuries and one death – it is not clear whether the Boeing plane had a problem or it was a natural event.
And just last week, an Air Canada Boeing jet burst into flames seconds after takeoff.
