NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for the past few weeks after Boeing and NASA ran into difficulties with the first manned flight of the company’s new Starliner spacecraft. Boeing and NASA cited thruster issues and a helium leak (helium is used in the Starliner’s engine system) that prevented the spacecraft from returning home as scheduled. NASA said I just said The astronauts may have to remain there until the next crew rotation is scheduled for August, possibly on a different spacecraft.
Boeing and NASA have tried to portray the extension as a positive, saying it’s testing systems needed for Starliner’s long-term missions, but the project has already suffered several delays since its original launch date. First time with the crew in 2017This, combined with the recent problems, calls into question the entire Starliner program.
The Starliner is Small helium leak Even before launch, helium is an inert gas (much like neon and xenon) and therefore does not react much with other substances.
This makes them ideal for use in contact with rocket fuel and high temperatures, but they are expensive to manufacture. Pushing the fuel out You need to feed the engines at the right speed, if there’s a helium leak, there might not be enough fuel reaching the thrusters.
The leak discovered while Starliner was on the launch pad was deemed negligible and the spacecraft was put into orbit, but it turned into a much bigger problem. Additional helium leaks confirmed After launch, some of the spacecraft’s small steering thrusters became unusable.
Four of the five thrusters were repaired while Starliner was docked to the ISS, but there are concerns that the other thrusters may stop during the return to Earth. Starliner’s re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere requires a very specific “angle of attack,” There is too much friction and the container doesn’t heat up..
NASA/Kim Shifflett
If the spacecraft’s orientation and orbital parameters cannot be adjusted during re-entry, in the worst case scenario, a huge amount of heat could build up and destroy the spacecraft with its two astronauts on board.
This is a highly unlikely scenario, as the spacecraft is designed with extra thrusters and other so-called “redundancies” (back-up systems), but so is a helium leak. While Boeing and NASA believe the return of the Starliner will be safe, these issues did not occur during unmanned test flights, so it is entirely possible that astronauts may be feeling anxious or worried.
The next problem is that Starliner will return to land instead of over ocean during re-entry, and will jettison the service module (like the Russian Soyuz spacecraft and SpaceX’s Dragon capsule), meaning the part of the spacecraft that holds all the vital information will burn up, making it very difficult to determine what actually went wrong.
Space research
the current Ground Testing Run by NASA, research is being carried out on the ISS to gather as much information as possible before its return.
The astronauts made it to the International Space Station, where they are safe. The Starliner will likely return to Earth, but if a critical defect is discovered while docked with the ISS, there are other return vehicles that could be used to bring the two-man crew back to Earth.
Astronaut safety is undoubtedly a top priority for both space agencies and industry, but this isn’t Starliner’s first problem: the spacecraft has been hit with major delays since its inception. 2010 Commercial Crew Program.
The contract called for Starliner to be ready by 2017, with a two-year delay until the first successful unmanned launch in 2022 (there was an unsuccessful attempt in 2019), followed by the main crewed launches. One month late.
The delays suggest that Boeing is falling behind its main commercial rival, SpaceX, which was awarded the contract at the same time as Boeing in 2010 to build a spacecraft capable of transporting crew members to the ISS. Successful launch of manned mission using Dragon capsule In 2020, Crew Dragon completed its fifth manned mission to the ISS, and as proof of its success, 30 Cargo Missions.
Boeing has been a major player in NASA’s space missions for decades, playing a major role in the Space Shuttle program, for example, a relationship that continues with the company’s role in the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will take astronauts to the Moon.
The company is one of the largest and most respected contractors in the aerospace industry. But problems with Starliner quickly arose. Widely advertised Boeing has never had an accident, so the company didn’t need to be hamstrung by further problems with its crewed spacecraft.
