Space: “What a great place!” 2 astronauts from Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station

“What a great place! It’s great to be back here!” All smiles, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore was happy with his arrival on the International Space Station (ISS). This is his third stay on the ISS, just like his colleague Suni Williams. The first two astronauts transported by Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft arrived safely on Thursday June 6, 400 km above our heads. They had taken off the day before from Florida.

This first crewed mission for Starliner represents a major challenge for Boeing and NASA. It aims to demonstrate that the vehicle is safe to begin regular operations. Ten years ago, the American space agency ordered two new vehicles from American companies Boeing and SpaceX to transport its astronauts to the ISS. If SpaceX has already been playing this role of space taxi for four years, Boeing’s program is years behind schedule.

“When Starliner is certified, the United States will have two systems for transporting humans to the ISS, and no other country has that,” recalled Jim Free, associate administrator at NASA. The empty spacecraft had already reached the ISS once in 2022, but this is the first time it has carried astronauts.

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Thruster problems and helium leaks

This docking should not hide problems with the ship’s thrusters, used to make small trajectory adjustments, which delayed the final approach. 5 of the 28 small thrusters failed at some point. But four were eventually put back into operation, providing the number needed for the operation.

Another problem arose in flight: during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, NASA announced that two new helium leaks, in addition to one previously known, had been detected on the spacecraft. Then on Thursday, an additional leak was identified, announced Steve Stich, a senior NASA official. These four leaks and the problem with the thrusters “are not at all linked”, he clarified. One of the leaks was identified before takeoff, but it was then decided not to repair it. Helium is not a flammable gas, but it is used in the ship’s propulsion system. No helium is currently being released into space, the system having been closed since docking.

Return to Earth in a week

Butch Wilmore, 61, and Suni Williams, 58, were greeted by the seven others already on board the International Space Station, NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts. “It’s just an amazing ship,” exclaimed Butch Wilmore.

The two Boeing passengers must spend a little over a week in the ISS, before returning to Earth, still aboard Starliner.