This photo provided by NASA shows the Starliner spacecraft docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module orbiting 262 miles above the Mediterranean coast of Egypt on June 13, 2024. Credit: NASA via AP
Two NASA astronauts will stay aboard the International Space Station longer as engineers fix problems with Boeing’s new space capsule that occurred during the trip there.
NASA on Friday did not set a return date until tests on the ground were complete and said the astronauts were safe.
“We’re in no rush to go home,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager.
Veteran NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams took off aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for the orbiting laboratory on June 5. It was the first astronaut launch for Boeing after years of delays and setbacks.
The test flight was expected to last about a week, enough time for Wilmore and Williams to inspect the capsule while docked at the station. But problems with the capsule’s propulsion system, used to maneuver the spacecraft, have led NASA and Boeing to delay flights home several times while they analyze the problem.
They also wanted to avoid conflicting with the spacewalks of the station’s astronauts. But a spacewalk this week was canceled after water leaked from an astronaut’s spacesuit. The problem has not been resolved and next week’s planned spacewalk has been postponed.
As the Starliner approached the space station a day after launch, last-minute thruster failures nearly derailed docking. Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters fell during docking; all but one of the thrusters were restarted.
In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore, center, pose with Expedition 71 flight engineers Mike Barratt, left, and Tracy Dyson, both NASA astronauts, in their spacesuits on aboard the International Space Station’s Quest airlock on June 24, 2024 Credit: NASA via AP
The Starliner already had one small helium leak when it launched into orbit, and several more leaks occurred during the flight. Helium is used to pressurize the propellant for the thrusters. Boeing said this week that the two problems were not a problem for the return trip.
In delaying the astronauts’ return, NASA and Boeing said they needed more time to gather information about the thruster problem and leaks while the capsule was docked. Both are in the service module, a unit attached to the pod that burns up on re-entry.
NASA initially said the Starliner could stay docked to the space station for up to 45 days due to battery limitations. But in-flight tests showed that limit could be extended, Stich said.
Officials said they would not set a return date while they conduct ground tests of capsule thrusters in the New Mexico desert, which are expected to last several weeks. They want to try to replicate the situation that occurred during docking.
“I want to make it very clear that Butch and Sunny are not stranded in space,” Stitch said, adding that the Starliner is designed for a mission of up to 210 days.
In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Sunny Williams pose for a portrait in the lobby between the front port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. Credit: NASA via AP
Stich said astronauts could return to Earth on the Starliner in the event of a space station accident.
After the space shuttle fleet was retired, NASA turned over astronaut travel to private companies. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has flown nine taxi flights for NASA since 2020. NASA plans to alternate between SpaceX and Boeing in transporting crews to and from the space station.
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