NASA has not yet announced a return date.
Star Delayer
Boeing is desperately trying to figure out what happened to its Starliner spacecraft, which is still in development. Suspended indefinitely At the International Space Station.
Troubled Capsule docking Even though the engineer arrived at the station on June 6th Multiple helium leaks discoveredAfter problems docking with the space station, a further leak affecting the propulsion system was discovered.
and, Associated Press ReportsNASA has not yet announced a return date for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Stuck I’ve been on the space station for over a month now.
Boeing recently tested the spare thrusters on the ground again in an attempt to figure out what went wrong.
“We’ve collected a wealth of data on the thrusters that will help us better understand what’s going on during flight,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager. NASA Update“Our team next moved on to disassembly and inspection of the engine, which will provide further insight as we analyze our results and evaluate next steps.”
Overheating
Helium leak kills some of Starliner’s thrusters overheatThis has raised questions about its ability to return to Earth, but NASA maintains that Starliner could still return Williams and Wilmore safely if an emergency occurred.
“What we learned from this flight is that we fired our thrusters more than we anticipated, and more frequently,” Stich said. statement Last week I said “frequently.” And by “frequently I’m talking about how close each thruster pulse is to the next pulse of that thruster.”
“What we’re trying to do at White Sands is to accurately recreate the pulse that the thrusters observed, understand the heating effects of that pulse and make sure there are no unexpected consequences from that pulse,” he added.
As of today, Boeing has completed testing of the thrusters and is preparing them for more detailed inspection.
Meanwhile, NASA said Wilmore and Williams have been keeping busy by taking stock of food supplies and helping with tests to manufacture optical fiber in space.
It remains to be seen when they will finally be able to return home after a mission that was planned to last 14 days, not months.
Starliner Details: NASA acknowledges stranded Starliner spacecraft’s thrusters are overheating
