Return date unknown for NASA astronauts launched via Boeing capsule

Extended Stay for Astronauts as Boeing's Starliner Faces Technical Issues

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will extend their stay while engineers work to resolve problems with Boeing’s new space capsule encountered during its recent journey. NASA announced on Friday that they have not set a return date for the astronauts until thorough testing on the ground is concluded, assuring that the astronauts remain safe. “We’re not in any rush to come home,” stated Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager.

Veteran NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams lifted off towards the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule on June 5. This marked Boeing's inaugural astronaut launch after a prolonged series of delays and setbacks. Initially, the mission was supposed to last about a week to allow Wilmore and Williams ample time to evaluate the capsule while it was docked at the station. However, issues with thrusters, crucial for maneuvering the spacecraft, have led NASA and Boeing to repeatedly postpone the return flight to carry out detailed analyses. Additionally, they aimed to prevent overlap with spacewalk activities planned for station astronauts.

As Starliner approached the space station a day post-launch, last-minute thruster malfunctions nearly thwarted the docking process. Out of the capsule's 28 thrusters, five malfunctioned during the docking phase; all but one were eventually brought back online. Compounding these issues, Starliner experienced a minor helium leak upon entering orbit, with more leaks developing during the mission. Helium is essential for pressurizing the fuel used by the thrusters. Despite these issues, Boeing asserted this week that the thruster malfunctions and helium leaks are not worrisome for the return journey.

To ensure all problems are thoroughly understood and resolved, NASA and Boeing decided to extend the astronauts' stay, permitting more time to investigate the thruster malfunctions and helium leaks while the capsule remains docked. Both the thrusters and helium systems are housed in the service module, a section that detaches and burns up during reentry.

Since the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet, the agency has relied on private companies for astronaut transportation. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has undertaken nine crewed missions for NASA since 2020. NASA’s strategy involves alternating crewed missions between SpaceX and Boeing to the ISS.