Astronauts From Boeing Starliner May be on ISS Until August

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Facts

  • Two NASA astronauts trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) may remain in space until August, NASA announced on Wednesday, after technical problems prevented their planned return in June.1
  • The astronauts were part of the first crewed mission of Boeing's Starliner capsule, with the capsule carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita (Suni) Williams to the ISS on June 5.2
  • The test mission was planned to last around a week, but faulty thrusters and small helium leaks sparked safety concerns, delaying the astronaut's return.3
  • NASA has said that it is still performing tests to ensure that the equipment operates correctly and that, although they were confident that the capsule could safely evacuate the crew, it was not yet ready to do so.4
  • NASA has said that Wilmore and Williams are safe aboard the ISS, and have been integrated with the Expedition 71 team. The station reportedly has plenty of supplies, and its schedule is relatively open until mid-August.5
  • This week, NASA teams have been performing ground tests of Starliner's thruster, at a test facility in White Sands New Mexico, to put it through similar conditions to those experienced by the spacecraft on the way to the ISS.5

Sources: 1Independent, 2Space.com, 3spacenews.com, 4Guardian and 5ABC News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by ABC News. This was a test flight for a new spacecraft, and it's not unusual to encounter obstacles and require additional testing. Tests are being completed to ensure confidence in the safety of the aircraft. Still, until it's ready, the astronauts remain safe and comfortable aboard the ISS and are helping to achieve objectives with the rest of the crew aboard the station. By the end of this week, testing should be complete, and by the following month, the astronauts should return to Earth.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Starliner has had issues since the beginning, and thruster and helium leak problems were experienced even before the spacecraft was launched. Starliner was meant to rehab Boeing's image, following scandals with the crashes of two 737 Max airliners and other safety issues, but it has failed. The mission is years behind schedule and $1.5B over budget. This seems like yet another failure from Boeing and the progress of this mission must be closely monitored.

Predictions