Astronauts Stuck on International Space Station as Boeing Struggles to Fix Starliner: Return Delayed

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Two astronauts will be stuck on the International Space Station for at least another week as experts at NASA and Boeing struggle to fix their spacecraft.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived on the ISS on June 6 after a successful Boeing Starliner launch. Expected to only stay a week, the two will not be arriving on Earth before June 26, NASA and Boeing officials said in a Tuesday press conference.

The Boeing Starliner is facing several mechanical problems. En route to the station, the crew reported problems with five thrusters and four helium leaks. A fifth helium leak has since cropped up. Crews are working to make sure its safe before the astronauts are put back on and return home.

This delay comes after NASA and Boeing crews announced June 22 as their return date.

“We want to give our teams a little bit more time to look at the data, do some analysis, and make sure we’re really ready to come home,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said on Tuesday.

Stich said they do not see a scenario “where Starliner is not going to be able to bring Butch and Suni home.”

Crews will attempt to land in the White Sands area of New Mexico next week. If the crew cannot make the June 26 landing, the next “prime opportunity” will be on July 2.

Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s International Space Station Program, said the crew is feeling positive.

“They love Starliner, they love being in the vehicle, they love being on ISS,” Weigel said on Tuesday. “I think, you know, if you ask Butch and Suni, they might want to stay for a long period of time.”

Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for the Commercial Crew Program at Boeing, said the crew is taking advantage of the extra time.

“I don’t think a lot of us don’t look at that as a delay,” Nappi said. “We look at that as an opportunity, and in this case, privilege to stay on station and do more work.”

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, with Williams and Wilmore onboard, lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5. After a 24-hour flight, they successfully docked on the ISS.

Boeing hopes Starliner will compete with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, which has been NASA’s only vehicle for sending ISS crew members to orbit from the US since 2020.

This mission follows years of other challenges Boeing has faced with Starliner.

In 2019, an unmanned aircraft saw a test failure with dozens of software glitches, design problems and management issues. Three years later, a repeat unmanned test successfully landed on the ISS.

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