Two NASA astronauts who embarked on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft are currently stranded in orbit. Engineers have detected numerous issues with the spacecraft, prompting a delay in their return to Earth. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return on June 13th after a week on the ISS, but their stay has been extended twice due to these ongoing challenges. NASA has stated that the astronauts will now return home no sooner than June 26th. Boeing’s Starliner capsule, on its inaugural crewed flight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5th, experienced a series of problems during its 25-hour journey. Engineers discovered five separate issues with the spacecraft’s thruster system, leading NASA to postpone the return flight to allow time for troubleshooting. The delay extends the crew’s stay on the space station to at least three weeks. “We’ve learned that our helium system is not performing as designed,” Mark Nappi, Boeing’s Starliner program manager, revealed at a news conference on June 18th. “Albeit manageable, it’s still not working like we designed it. So we’ve got to go figure that out.” The return module of the Starliner spacecraft is currently docked to the ISS’s Harmony module while NASA and Boeing engineers assess critical hardware problems. These issues include five helium leaks within the system that pressurizes the spacecraft’s propulsion system and five thruster failures affecting its reaction-control system. Following the activation of the thrusters on June 15th, engineers observed a partial resolution of most of these issues. However, the exact causes remain unclear. With the Harmony module’s limited fuel supply, Starliner can only remain docked for 45 days, narrowing the window for a safe return flight. This latest setback for the Starliner capsule adds to a string of challenges encountered by Boeing’s spacecraft. Developed as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, a partnership with private companies to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit following the retirement of NASA’s space shuttles in 2011, the Starliner was intended to compete with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. While Crew Dragon has been operational since 2020, Starliner’s journey has been plagued by difficulties. Its first uncrewed test flight in 2019 was marred by a software fault that put it in the wrong orbit, followed by a second attempt hampered by issues with a fuel valve. Further reviews last year revealed issues with the capsule’s parachutes and the presence of flammable tape, requiring corrective actions. The current mission represents Boeing’s third attempt to transport a crew to the ISS. The previous two missions were canceled due to a computer glitch in a ground launch sequencer and issues with the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, upon which Starliner was mounted. This series of delays and challenges underscores the complexity of private spaceflight and highlights the ongoing efforts to overcome technical obstacles in the pursuit of space exploration.
Boeing’s Starliner Faces New Delays After Thruster Issues, Astronauts Stranded on ISS
