No official return date yet for Boeing Starliner astronauts as they remain stuck on ISS
File photo.
Two NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) astronauts-Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams- would remain at the International Space Station (ISS) with no official return date yet, NASA said on Thursday (July 25). Wilmore and Williamsrode to orbit in a Boeing Starliner from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5. They were scheduled to stay a week in orbit.
However, during the flight,the spacecraft suffered a series of issues that extendedthe two astronauts' stay aboard the ISS.Five thrusters failed as the capsule approached the space station on June 6, a day after liftoff. Four have since been reactivated.
'We're making great progress but...'
Addressing a press conference,NASAofficial Steve Stich said, "We don't have a major announcement today relative to a return date." Stich, the program manager for NASA's Commercial Crew Program, added, "We're making great progress, but we're just not quite ready to do that."
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Stich also said that NASA and Boeing will perform a test fire of the spacecraft as early as next week. He added that following this review, anundock time will be set.
Last week, engineerscompleted testing on a spare thruster in the New Mexico desert and will rip it apart to try to understand what went wrong ahead of the Starliner’s docking.
'Spacecraft is still safe'
It appears degraded seals are to blame for the helium leaks and thruster problems — entirely separate issues — but more analysis is needed, a report by the news agency Associated Press said.
Each of the 28 manoeuvring thrusters can fit in a hand and weighs around a kilogram.The capsule is also outfitted with bigger engines for dropping out of orbit at flight’s end. All these are part of a segment that is discarded before landing, which means nothing to study for future flights.
This was Boeing’s first test flight with a crew aboard. NASA has said that thespacecraft is still safe and pointed out it has enough fuel to remain in orbit until mid-August at the latest.
(With inputs from agencies)