Astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) boarded their “life support vehicle” and prepared for an emergency evacuation as a defunct Russian satellite shattered into hundreds of pieces.
This also includes Boeing. Disaster aboard the Starliner spacecraftOfficials said that if its debris had hit the ISS, it could have reached Earth.
“We used the Starliner for its safe haven capability,” said manager Steve Stich. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).
“(Astronauts) boarded the spacecraft, turned on the spacecraft, closed the hatch and prepared for emergency unlocking and landing (from the ISS).”
Boeing discusses why astronauts stay in space
The Starliner, built by Boeing as part of a private-public partnership with NASA, will first fly with a manned crew on June 5, 2024. (NASA/YouTube)
Starliner’s launch on June 5, with astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, was Boeing’s first manned mission to the ISS since 2014, when Boeing and NASA agreed on a $4.2 billion public-private partnership.
A helium leak and faulty thrusters in the propulsion system caused a week-long mission to turn into an indefinite stay in space.
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Starliner is docked at the ISS and engineers are collecting data to help fix problems.
According to Boeing, the helium leak is “stable and not a concern for the return mission” and four of the five shut-down thrusters are “operating normally.”
Boeing’s Starliner capsule in low orbit, ahead of the first manned mission to the International Space Station. (NASA/YouTube)
Starliner docks with the International Space Station. (NASA)
“I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,” Stief said during a teleconference with nearly two dozen news outlets on Friday. “Our plan is to get them back on the Starliner and get them back home in a timely manner.”
When this will happen is still unknown.
Reporters bombarded Boeing and NASA with questions, seeking specifics about their plans to bring Williams and Wilmore back and challenging officials’ assertion that the astronauts are not stranded, though no timetable for their return has been given.
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“We still have a little bit more work to do to get to the final return,” Stich said. “We’re in no hurry to get home.”
NASA and Boeing repeatedly said the astronauts were safe and “in good spirits,” and stressed it was a great opportunity to collect more data.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore on Starliner before launch on June 5, 2024. (NASA/YouTube)
Preparations are underway for further testing on Earth. The thrusters have been brought to NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Dona Ana County. new Mexico, Where testing can begin from Tuesday itself.
According to Stich, this is expected to last “a few weeks,” and will determine the timetable for the astronauts’ return home.
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“This is an opportunity for us to test the thruster just as we have done in space, as well as perform detailed inspections on the ground,” he said.
Boeing said in an earlier email to Fox News Digital that it’s essential to take advantage of the time they have and collect as much data as possible, because the problematic service module, where the helium leak occurred and the faulty thrusters are located, will be removed after the crew leaves the ISS.
They burn up in the atmosphere during re-entry, so they cannot be tested.
According to NASA, “As the International Space Station flew 266 miles over the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia, an aurora glow flashed beneath Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked to the forward port of the Harmony module.” (NASA/Matt Dominick)
Mission and its significance
Boeing and SpaceX funded by Elon Musk These programs play a key role in NASA’s CCP, which will allow NASA to send astronauts and cargo to the ISS without relying on Russia.
The CCP was launched under former President Obama in 2010, a year before NASA retired the space shuttle after 30 years.
The US has relied on Russia to transport cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station, spending about $90 million per astronaut for each trip.
In 2014, after lengthy competition, Boeing and SpaceX won contracts from NASA, bringing the average cost to less than $70 million per astronaut.
Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon are completely different rockets. (NASA)
SpaceX has conducted several successful manned launches since its first manned launch in 2020.
The Starliner launch on June 5 was Boeing’s first manned mission to the ISS, but problems turned the week-long mission into an indefinite stay in space.
Officials stressed Friday that it was a “test flight” and that there were ample supplies. They said Williams and Wilmore were “in good spirits.”
