NASA and Boeing officials on Friday dismissed headlines that the commercial Starliner crew capsule was stuck on the International Space Station, but said they needed more time to analyze the data before officially clearing the spacecraft for undocking and reentry.
Two NASA astronauts, Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Sonny Williams, will spend at least a few more weeks on the space station while engineers on the ground conduct thruster tests to better understand problems with the Starliner’s propulsion system in orbit. Wilmore and Williams launched June 5 aboard an Atlas V rocket and docked with the station the next day, completing the first segment of the Starliner’s first test flight with astronauts.
NASA managers 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 extending the mission. The test flight is likely to last at least a month and a half, possibly longer, as engineers contend with helium leaks and problems with the Starliner’s service module thrusters.
The batteries on that Starliner spacecraft were originally certified for only a 45-day mission, but NASA officials said they are considering extending the limit after confirming the batteries are functioning well.
“We have the luxury of time,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Directorate. “We’re still in the middle of a test mission. We’re still moving forward.”
NASA and Boeing officials previously pushed back the Starliner’s re-entry and landing from mid-June, then from June 26, and now they have sidestepped a potential landing in early July. Last week, NASA said in a statement that the agency’s senior leadership would meet to formally review the Starliner’s readiness for re-entry, something that was not part of the original plan.
“We are not stuck on the ISS”
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said Friday he wanted to clear up the “misunderstandings” that led to headlines claiming the Starliner spacecraft was stuck or stuck on the space station.
“I want to make it very clear that Butch and Sunny are not stranded in space,” Stitch said. “Our plan is to continue to bring them back on the Starliner and bring them home at the right time.” We still have some work to do to get there for the final return, but they’re safe on the (space) station.”
With the Starliner docked, the space station currently hosts three different crewed spacecraft, including SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Russia’s Soyuz. There are no serious plans to bring Wilmore and Williams home on a different spacecraft.
“Obviously we have the luxury of having multiple vehicles and we’re working on contingency plans for many different occasions, but right now we’re really focused on getting Butch and Sunny back on the Starliner,” Stitch 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 the things that are there. We’ve got a really good test flight that’s been done so far, and it’s been viewed quite negatively.”
Stich said NASA officials should have “more frequent interaction” with reporters to fill in information gaps about the Starliner test flight. NASA’s written updates are not always timely and often lack detail and context.
NASA officials have authorized the Starliner spacecraft to make an emergency return to Earth if astronauts need to evacuate the space station for safety or medical reasons. But NASA has not yet approved the Starliner for re-entry and landing under “nominal” conditions.
“When it’s an emergency, we’re ready to put the crew on the spacecraft and bring them home as a lifeboat,” Bowersox said. “For the nominal entry, we want to look at the data more before we make the final call to get the crew on board the vehicle, and it’s a serious enough call that we’ll get the senior management team together (for approval).”
