NASA has delayed the return of two astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) for the third time, raising concerns that the crew could become ‘stuck’.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled for a nine-day stint, which was postponed twice this month and now sits on an unspecified date.
The extended stay will allow more time to review technical issues the capsule encountered while traveling to the ISS, which included propellant failures and leaking valves, Boeing said in a statement.
DailyMail.com spoke to experts who said NASA could be forced to launch a rescue mission and could use Elon Musk’s SpaceX to carry it out.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled for a nine-day stay, but NASA revealed that it is now staying indefinitely
Katsuo Kurabayashi, professor of aerospace engineering at New York University, said: “Given the current situation with Starliner, it is possible that NASA may decide to use an alternative spacecraft, such as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, to bring the astronauts home safely.
“As far as I can tell at this point, the last mission delay in July alone should not raise serious concerns leading to another very challenging rescue mission or future abandonment of Starliner-based missions.
“But if they start talking about a rescue mission by accident, that would indicate that there are some serious, potentially life-threatening hardware flaws found with the Starliner.”
The return of the astronauts was initially postponed to June 14, and last week it was rescheduled for June 26.
NASA indicated that its staff was evaluating the return dates after the station’s two planned spacewalks on June 24 and July 2 – hoping to return the two astronauts to Earth no later than early July.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said: “We are taking our time and following our mission management team’s standard process.
“We are letting the data guide our decision-making regarding the management of the small leaks in the helium system and the performance of the propellant that we observed during rendezvous and docking.
“Furthermore, given the length of the mission, it is appropriate that we complete an agency-wide review, similar to the one conducted prior to the return of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 after two months in orbit, to document the agency’s official acceptance of continuing as planned.’
The extended stay will allow more time to review technical issues encountered, including propellant failures and leaking valves, Boeing said in a statement.
The Starliner encountered five failures of its 28 maneuvering thrusters, five leaks of helium gas intended to pressurize those thrusters and a slow-moving thrust valve that signaled unresolved past problems since launch.
Starliner lifted off June 5 at 10:52 a.m. ET from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida last week with the same leak that forced a cleanup in May.
The capsule, however, launched with a familiar leak said to be no bigger than a shirt button and quite thin.
Stich said last month that he was confident 27 of those 28 thrusters were working properly, with no leaks or other problems.
However, the Starliner encountered five failures of its 28 maneuvering thrusters, five leaks of helium gas intended to pressurize those thrusters, and a slow-moving thrust valve that signaled unresolved past problems since launch.
When Starliner arrived near the space station for docking on June 6, five thruster failures prevented a close approach by the spacecraft until Boeing made a fix.
He rewrote the software and modified some procedures to revive four of them and proceed with a docking.
The disassembly and return of Starliner to Earth represents the spacecraft’s most complicated phases of its test mission.
Boeing has spent $1.5 billion in cost overruns beyond its $4.5 billion NASA development contract.
NASA officials have said they want to better understand the cause of the thruster failures, valve problems and helium leaks before the Starliner begins its return.
While only one thruster has died on the Starliner’s current flight, Boeing encountered four thruster problems during the capsule’s uncrewed return from space in 2022.
The leak that forced a cleanup in May raised concerns among a NASA contractor, who urged the space agency to redouble safety checks and reexamine safety protocols to make sure the Starliner is safe before it takes off. something catastrophic happens.’
Starliner lifted off June 5 at 10:52 a.m. ET from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida last week with the same leak that forced a cleanup in May.
Erin Faville, president of ValveTech, raised concerns about this month’s launch, telling DailyMail.com: “I warned. I’ll choose to let it play out.’
While NASA and Boeing didn’t seem concerned about the initial leak, Mike Gruntman, a professor of astronautics at the University of Southern California, suggested the problems stemmed from manufacturing issues.
“Multiple similar issues – helium leaks – with seemingly similar components, as reported in the press, point to a systemic problem with the design or workmanship or testing or engineering of the system or a combination of these,” he told the DailyMail. com.
Gruntman also said that “it is more than likely that SpaceX will be able to provide an additional launch in the foreseeable future to bring back astronauts.”
The Starliner issues follow a series of problems plaguing Boeing’s commercial jetliners.
A Boeing plane experienced a rare Dutch roll at 32,000 feet mid-flight last month, which resulted in the plane being taken out of service.
Southwest Airlines flight Southwest Flight 746 was flying with 175 passengers from Phoenix to Oakland on May 25 when it experienced the terrifying Dutch roll.
A Dutch roll is the name given to the combination of a yaw motion when the tail slides and the airplane swings from wing tip to wing tip. It is said to mimic the movement of a Dutch ice skater.
In the same month, Singapore Airlines Flight SQ321 experienced fatal ‘turbulence’ involving proximity to tropical storms.
The Boeing 777 aircraft operated by Singapore Airlines left London’s Heathrow Airport at 22:17 local time with 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board.
However, the turbulence caused several injuries and one death – it is unclear whether the Boeing jet had a problem or was a natural event.
And just last week, an Air Canada Boeing jet burst into flames seconds after takeoff.
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