The first astronaut mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has been extended again.
Starliner is scheduled to remain docked at the International Space Station (ISS) until at least July 2, about a week later than the previously announced target date of June 26. The extra time will give Boeing and NASA more time to evaluate several issues that have arisen with the spacecraft.
“We’re taking our time and following the standard Mission Management Team process,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager. Updated Friday Night (June 21st).
“We are making data-driven decisions regarding managing the small leaks in the helium system and thruster performance that were observed during rendezvous and docking,” he added.
Starliner’s current mission, called Crew Flight Test (CFT), carried NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS. CFT launched on June 5 and arrived at the orbital laboratory the next day.
But as Stitch noted, its arrival wasn’t entirely smooth: While tracking the ISS, Starliner experienced issues with five of its 28 Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, four of which were eventually brought back online.
Additionally, CFT team members identified five small helium leaks in Starliner’s propulsion system: one was discovered before launch but was not considered a serious problem, and four occurred after the capsule was deployed from the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket.
Starliner was originally scheduled to stay at the ISS for about a week on this test voyage, but on June 9, NASA and Boeing announced that the departure would be postponed until June 18 to allow more time for Starliner inspections to coincide with NASA’s spacewalk at the ISS scheduled for June 13.
Then, on Tuesday (June 18), the planned departure date was moved again to June 26. The reason was the same: additional time would allow for a more detailed evaluation of the helium leak and the RCS thruster issues. Also, a spacewalk was still needed; the one scheduled for June 13 was postponed to June 24 after one of the designated spacewalkers experienced discomfort in his spacesuit.
NASA plans to conduct another spacewalk on July 2 and hopes to wrap that up before Starliner returns, NASA officials said in an update Friday.
Stich said the repeated CFT extensions are not a cause for concern, and stressed that NASA still has confidence in Starliner.
“Starliner is performing well in orbit while docked to the space station,” Stich said. “We are strategically using this extra time to pave the way for several important station activities while completing preparations for the return of Butch and Suni aboard Starliner, and to gain valuable information on system upgrades we would like to implement during the post-certification mission.”
Certification requires that Starliner be able to fly six-month astronaut missions to the ISS for NASA. SpaceX has already done those flights with its Crew Dragon capsule, with Elon Musk’s company in the midst of its eighth long-duration crewed mission under contract.
“With ample supplies in orbit and a relatively light station schedule through mid-August, the crew is not under any time pressure to leave the station,” NASA officials said in an update on Friday.