In an update issued late Friday night, NASA said it was “adjusting” the return date of the Starliner spacecraft to Earth between June 26 and a yet-to-be-determined time in July.
The announcement came after two marathon days of meetings to review the readiness of the Boeing-developed spacecraft to transport NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth. Those meetings included senior NASA officials, including Deputy Administrator Jim Freeh, according to sources.
The “crewed test flight,” which launched on June 5 aboard an Atlas V rocket, was originally scheduled to undock and return to Earth on June 14. But after NASA and Boeing engineers reviewed data from a problematic flight to the International Space Station, they abandoned the return mission several times.
Officials did so again on Friday night, saying they needed more time to review the data.
“take time”
“We’re taking our time and following the standard Mission Management Team process,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager. NASA Update“We are making data-driven decisions regarding managing the small leaks in the helium system and thruster performance that were observed during rendezvous and docking.”
Just a few days ago, on Tuesday, NASA and Boeing officials set a June 26 date for return to Earth, but that was before a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday in which mission managers were to review the findings of two major problems with the Starliner spacecraft: five leaks in the helium system that pressurizes Starliner’s propulsion system, and the failure of five of the spacecraft’s 28 reaction control system thrusters as it approached the space station.
While NASA’s latest updates don’t reveal anything about what was discussed during those meetings, it’s clear that NASA leaders could not be more comfortable with all the contingencies that Wilmore and Williams might encounter on their flight back to Earth, including safely undocking from the space station, departing, executing a de-orbit burn, separating the crew capsule and service module, and flying through the planet’s atmosphere before parachuting into the New Mexico desert.
Spacecraft have a 45-day limit
Now, NASA and Boeing engineering teams are planning to give it a bit more time. Sources say NASA was looking at June 30 as a possible return date, but the agency also wants to conduct two spacewalks outside the station. Those spacewalks, currently scheduled for June 24 and July 2, will still go ahead as scheduled. Starliner will return to Earth sometime after that, but it’s unlikely to be any sooner than the Fourth of July holiday.
“We are strategically using this extra time to complete preparations for the return of Butch and Suni aboard Starliner and pave the way for several key station activities while gaining valuable insight into system upgrades we want to implement for the post-certification mission,” Stich said.
In some ways, it will be beneficial for NASA and Boeing to have Starliner docked at the space station for an extended period of time, allowing them to gather more data on how the spacecraft will perform on long-duration missions. Eventually, Starliner will carry out operational missions that will allow astronauts to stay in orbit for six months at a time.
However, the spacecraft is rated to stay at the space station for 45 days, which began on June 6. Moreover, it is less than optimal that NASA feels the need to continue postponing the spacecraft’s flights to get it used to performing on the return flight to Earth. In two press conferences since Starliner docked with the station, officials have downplayed the overall seriousness of these issues, reiterating that Starliner has permission to return “in case of an emergency.” But officials have yet to fully explain why they still feel uneasy about returning Starliner to Earth under normal circumstances.
