Boeing Space’s Starliner spacecraft delivered its first crew to the International Space Station (ISS) in early June, a mission that will last about eight days.
But as it neared the ISS on June 6, problems emerged with some of the Starliner’s thrusters. Thrusters are critical because they control the spacecraft’s orientation, so they will play a key role in guiding the Starliner toward re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere when the vehicle finally heads home.
NASA was so concerned about the performance of the thrusters that it decided to extend the mission while it conducted an investigation into what happened, and to see if anything could – or could – be done to fix the problem.
Two Starliner crew members — NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — have had their missions extended until further notice.
NASA is preparing to provide another update on the mission on Thursday, July 25 at 11:30 a.m. ET — and the date of the Starliner’s return home. Those interested in listening may do so. through the agency’s website.
The media event will be attended by Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew, and Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew program.
As part of efforts to better understand the thrust problem, NASA and Boeing recently completed a ground hot fire test of the Starliner reaction control system thruster at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.
“The test series included firing the engine through similar in-flight conditions as the shuttle approaches the space station, as well as the various pressurized-gas firings expected during Starliner’s undocking and deorbit burn. A Landing in Southwest America” NASA said on its website. „The teams are analyzing data from these tests, and leadership plans to discuss preliminary findings during the call.”
The Starliner mission was an end-to-end test of the spacecraft’s systems. Once it returns to Earth, NASA will evaluate the mission to see if it can begin the process of certifying Starliner for orbital flights to and from the space station, which would provide another option for crewed missions alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.