Boeing, NASA consider extending astronauts’ Starliner mission up to three months

More than three weeks into a mission that was initially projected to last only days, the two astronauts piloting the inaugural crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft do not know when they will return home. Officials have repeatedly indicated that the Starliner — which encountered issues with helium leaks and thruster outages en route to the International Space Station in early June — will be safe to bring astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore home.

plan to carry out in New Mexico, seeking to better understand why some of the Starliner’s thrusters unexpectedly failed during the first leg of its journey. “We’re just looking at the timeline to execute and then review the data,” Stich said at a Friday briefing. “And that’s what’s really the long pole, I would say, determining a landing date.” “We’re not in a rush to come home” he added.

teams then chose to leave the Starliner spacecraft safely docked with the space station while they worked to learn as much as possible about those issues. It’s not yet clear whether Commercial Crew Program for astronaut transportation, completed its first test flight in 2020 and has been flying routine missions ever since. SpaceX did have the benefit of designing the Crew Dragon spacecraft off the back of its Cargo Dragon vehicle, which for years was used to deliver supplies to the International Space Station before its successor took flight. Boeing, on the other hand, designed Starliner from scratch.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

NASA astronauts still aboard ISS as engineers fix leak on Boeing StarlinerNASA has delayed the Boeing Starliner’s return to Earth, forcing two astronauts to remain aboard the International Space Station with an unspecified return date.
Source: FOX10Phoenix - 🏆 83. / 68 Read more »

NASA, Boeing to Discuss Starliner’s MissionNASA and Boeing will discuss Starliner’s mission and departure from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test in a
Source: NASA - 🏆 672. / 51 Read more »

NASA again delays Boeing Starliner's return homeNASA said June 14 that the Boeing Starliner and its crew will now return to Earth from the International Space Station no earlier than Saturday, June 22.
Source: physorg_com - 🏆 388. / 55 Read more »

NASA and Boeing will discuss Starliner's delayed ISS departure today, and you can listen liveElizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time.
Source: SPACEdotcom - 🏆 92. / 67 Read more »

NASA delays return of Boeing Starliner spacecraft to June 26The return leg, with a fiery plunge through the atmosphere, is a key part of the test flight that will stress the spacecraft’s heat shield with temperatures reaching about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

NASA, Boeing delay Starliner astronaut landing to June 26 amid thruster issuesElizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time.
Source: SPACEdotcom - 🏆 92. / 67 Read more »