.jpg)
By Joey Roulette
(Reuters) – The return of the Boeing Starliner to Earth from the International Space Station with its first crew of astronauts has been postponed, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on Friday.
NASA did not provide a new date, raising questions about when the astronauts will return, as more testing and technical issues lead to further delays.
The return to Earth was previously scheduled to take place on June 26
The crew of American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams lifted off on June 5 as a final bid for routine flight certification from NASA.
Crew testing of the spacecraft, which has been test-flighted into space twice since 2019 without humans on board, has faced five failures of 28 maneuvering thrusters, five leaks of helium meant to stress those thrusters, and a slow-moving thruster. LED that indicates unresolved problems from the past.
NASA and Boeing (NYSE:) have had to conduct additional issues and tests that raise questions about exactly when Starliner will be able to bring its crew home, and add to the broader list of problems Boeing faces with its Starliner program. The company spent $1.5 billion in cost overruns on top of a $4.5 billion NASA development contract.
NASA wants the Starliner to become a second American spacecraft capable of ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has been the agency’s primary flight since 2020. Boeing’s Starliner program has been plagued by software glitches and problems In design and subcontractor disputes for years. .
When Starliner reached the vicinity of the space station for docking on June 6, five propulsion malfunctions prevented the spacecraft from approaching until Boeing could perform the repair. The company rewrote the software and modified some procedures to revive four of them and move forward with the docking process.
Starliner’s separation and return to Earth represent the spacecraft’s most complex stages of its test mission. NASA officials said they want to better understand the cause of the propulsion failure, valve problem and helium leak before the Starliner begins its roughly six-hour return journey.
While only one engine remains dead on the Starliner’s current flight, Boeing experienced four propulsion problems during the capsule’s unmanned return from space in 2022.
A NASA spokesperson told Reuters that according to flight rules jointly developed by Boeing and NASA, the Starliner’s maneuvering engines must allow at least “6 degrees of control freedom,” each with one backup engine.
That could mean that at least 12 of the 28 thrusters — most of them backups — are needed for safe flight, or perhaps fewer, as long as the remaining thrusters have one backup engine and can work together in a way that doesn’t limit the Starliner’s capability. Freedom of movement in space.
