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Boeing Starliner's return to Earth postponed. Astronauts stranded in space

Houri

Stupidman
Loyal

Boeing Starliner's return to Earth postponed, with no new date set for astronauts' flight home​

Posted 13h ago13 hours ago, updated 13h ago13 hours ago
A conical capsule space capsule above the Earth approaches the camera.

The Boeing Starliner capsule approaches the International Space Station during a test flight in 2022.(Supplied: NASA)
  • In short: The Boeing Starliner space capsule's return from the International Space Station has been delayed due to technical problems.
  • The Starliner program has been plagued by technical difficulties, including multiple launch delays. No new return date has been set.
  • What's next? NASA officials say they want to better understand the cause of the problems before Starliner embarks on its six-hour return journey.
NASA has postponed the return to Earth of Boeing's Starliner space capsule from the International Space Station with its first crew of astronauts to allow more time for a review of technical problems.

The pair's return was previously scheduled for June 26, having already been postponed once before from June 14.

NASA did not provide a new date, raising questions about when the mission's two astronauts will return.

"Mission managers are evaluating future return opportunities following the station's two planned spacewalks on June 24 and July 2," the agency said in a statement.

Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams, both Americans, lifted off on June 5 as a final demonstration to obtain routine flight certification from NASA.

A man and a woman in bright blue spacesuits walk down a ramp or stairs looking happy.
"We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process," said Steve Stich, NASA's commercial crew program manager.

"Starliner is performing well in orbit while docked to the space station," Mr Stich said, adding that the additional time would yield "valuable insight" into system upgrades for future missions.

The crewed test of the spacecraft, which has been test-flown to space twice since 2019 without humans on board, has experienced five failures of its 28 manoeuvring thrusters, five leaks of helium meant to pressurise those thrusters, and a slow-moving propellant valve that signalled unfixed issues from the past.

The issues and the additional tests NASA and Boeing have had to do call into question when exactly Starliner will be able to fly its crew home, and add to a list of broader problems Boeing faces with its Starliner program.

The company has spent $US1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) in cost overruns, on top of its $4.5 billion ($6.7 billion) NASA development contract.

NASA wants Starliner to become the second US spacecraft capable of ferrying its astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) alongside SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which has been the agency's primary ride since 2020.

5197da9070bb5f7e9837bf9159dc5f28
Boeing's Starliner blasts off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5.
Boeing's Starliner program has long struggled with software glitches, design problems and subcontractor disputes.

The launch of the crewed flight was delayed for two years due to a variety of issues, with technical difficulties at one point causing a postponement just 24 hours before launch.

Starliner launch faces lengthy delays due to tech issues​

Boeing badly needs a space win for its Starliner venture, a years-delayed program with more than $1.5 billion in cost overruns.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare for the flight.
Read more

When Starliner arrived in the space station's vicinity to dock on June 6, the five thruster failures prohibited the spacecraft from making a close approach until Boeing could implement a fix.

The company rewrote software and tweaked some procedures to revive four of them, and proceeded with a docking.

Starliner's undocking and return to Earth represent the spacecraft's most complicated phases of its test mission.

NASA officials say they want to better understand the cause of the thruster failures, valve issue and helium leaks that occurred on the trip to the ISS before Starliner embarks on its roughly six-hour return journey.

While just one thruster is currently dead, Boeing encountered four thruster problems during the capsule's uncrewed return from space in 2022.

According to flight rules established jointly by Boeing and NASA, Starliner's manoeuvring thrusters must, at a minimum, allow for "6 degrees of freedom of control", and each has one backup thruster.

That could mean at least 12 of the 28 thrusters — most of which are backups — are required for a safe flight.

However, the flight could potentially be undertaken with fewer thrusters, as long as the remaining thrusters each have one backup and can work together in a way that does not restrict Starliner's freedom of movement in space.

Reuters
 

Hightech88

Alfrescian
Loyal
Another disaster waiting to happen.

Knn can't even transport crew members safely from ISS to earth, don't talk about going to Mars safely, LOL.

We are still eons away from having proper technology for space travel.
 

ftan42

Alfrescian
Loyal
only 2 countries are capable to recue the astronauts back to earth but are also their enemies
 

Truthspeak

Alfrescian
Loyal
All the big talk about Angmoh technology. Where are all the ACS ?
It is just pseudoscience just like the lab leak virus stories. Sheeple aka globetards will believe the mainstream fantasy stories whichever will convince them that is the truth. These endless pseudoscience will forever spinning just like their non-stop fake spinning globe.

You can just start counting from the days of so call moonlanding until the day you died if there is a conclusion that man can really traveled out to space. Lol
 
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