These tests concern in particular the problems encountered in flight on the capsule’s thrusters as it approached the Space Station (ISS) to dock there.
Ground tests on similar thrusters will be carried out to recreate the space environment and better understand the cause of the problem. These tests should last approximately two weeks, and a return date will not be set until then.
“Butch and Suni are not stuck in space,” stressed Steve Stich, a senior NASA official, during an unusually tense press conference. The return of the vehicle is not “rushed”, he added.
Boeing’s setbacks strand astronauts on the ISS: “They could return with Space X, but that would be the most complete slap in the face, a disaster”
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to spend just over a week in the flying laboratory, leading the American press to wonder whether the astronauts were currently without a means of return.
They are “not stuck on the ISS, the crew is not in danger,” also hammered home Mark Nappi, a senior executive at Boeing. “It’s quite painful to read the things that are circulating. We’ve had a very good test flight so far, and it’s being perceived quite negatively,” he complained.
“We can bring Starliner in at any time,” he insisted. But “we don’t understand (the problems encountered, editor’s note) well enough to fix them permanently, so the only way to do it is to take the time” and “collect more data”.
First astronauts carried by Starliner spacecraft arrive at ISS
In addition to the thrusters, another anomaly affects Starliner, a new vehicle ordered 10 years ago by NASA to serve as a space taxi transporting its astronauts to the ISS.
NASA and Boeing are still investigating the cause of helium leaks detected during the flight. Helium is not flammable but is used for the propulsion system. However, the spacecraft still has enough helium to re-enter, according to the space agency.
The mission, which Boeing carried out years behind schedule, is Starliner’s first with a crew, and is necessary for the capsule to obtain NASA certification and then begin regular operations.
In the meantime, NASA astronauts have already been joining the ISS thanks to SpaceX vessels for four years.
