The story of Starliner’s first manned mission may soon be coming to an end. On Saturday, July 20, NASA and Boeing engineering teams completed a hot-fire test of the spacecraft’s thrusters. Positive results suggest that the spacecraft’s first journey with astronauts aboard to the International Space Station may finally be completed in the coming days.
The Starliner CST-100 spacecraft has been docked to the ISS since June 6th. Finally launched It was launched aboard an Atlas V rocket. The launch came just days after a previous attempt had been aborted. Ground teams discovered a helium leak before that launch, two more leaks after launch, and two more leaks after the spacecraft landed. Parked at the ISS. The docking process itself was far from perfect, with five thrusters failing during the first docking attempt.
The Starliner crew was originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 14th.They will stay on the ISS much longer than planned. NASA and Boeing officials Claimed Starliner is always capable of returning astronauts safely, and long delays will not occur. The move is intended to provide an opportunity to carry out tests that would be impossible on Earth, and the space agency insists that no astronauts will be left behind.
in statement In a statement released on Tuesday, NASA said two astronauts aboard the Starliner spacecraft arrived at the ISS. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Once inside the spacecraft, 27 of the 28 thrusters were tested, one by one. The tests were designed to measure the thrusters’ performance and helium leak rate. NASA said the preliminary results were promising and within the range needed for the crew to ultimately return aboard the spacecraft.
Wilmore & Williams has carried out several tests since the dry fire, including checking the water system and internal pressure. Data from the thruster test is being reviewed, and once that analysis is complete, NASA said it will announce a target return date for the two-person crew.
By itself statementBoeing said a flight test readiness review is scheduled for later this week. The astronauts are also scheduled to take part in two simulations of the undocking procedure this week.
Starliner is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and a $4.3 billion contract with Boeing, but it has been plagued by delays, cost overruns and technical issues since it began. The problems have become so severe that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized Boeing in a 2022 interview. Blame the company This is because the company is lagging far behind rival SpaceX in developing reusable spacecraft.
