Boeing Space ’s Starliner docked at the International Space Station in 2024.NASA
Boeing Space ’s Starliner ballistic capsule save its first crew to the International Space Station ( ISS ) in early June in a mission that was supposed to last about eight days .
But as itapproached the ISS on June 6 , trouble emerged with some of the Starliner ’s pusher . The pusher are important as they hold the orientation of the ballistic capsule and will therefore play a crucial role in channelize the Starliner toward its reentry into Earth ’s atmosphere when the vehicle ultimately sic off for place .
Boeing Space’s Starliner docked at the International Space Station in 2024.NASA
So implicated has NASA been about the functionality of the thruster that it adjudicate to extend the mission while it carried out investigative work into what happened , and to see if anything needs to be done — or can be done — to counterbalance the yield .
It ’s think that the two Starliner crew members — NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — have had their foreign mission stretch out until further notice .
NASA is get quick to offer another update on the mission — and possibly a date for the Starliner ’s homecoming — at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday , July 25 . Folks concerned in listening in can do sovia the agency ’s web site .
Participating in the metier issue will be Steve Stich , managing director of NASA ’s Commercial Crew Program , and Mark Nappi , vice president and program manager of Boeing ’s Commercial Crew Program .
As part of drive to well understand the thruster issue , NASA and Boeing recently completed ground hot fire examination of a Starliner reaction ascendency organisation thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico .
“ The examination serial involved firing the railway locomotive through similar in - flight conditions the spacecraft experienced during its overture to the space place , as well as various stress character firings for what is await during Starliner ’s undocking and the deorbit burn that will position the spacecraft for a landing in the Southwestern U.S.,”NASA saidon its website . “ Teams are psychoanalyse the datum from these test , and leadership be after to discuss initial finding during the call . ”
The Starliner foreign mission is an ending - to - remainder test of the spacecraft ’s scheme . Once it receive back to Earth , NASA will assess the mission to see if it can begin the process of certifying Starliner for rotational flights to and from the quad place , yield it another pick for crew mission alongside SpaceX ’s Crew Dragon spacecraft .
