NASA Not Sure When Sunita Williams Can Return From Space, Says Starliner Not Ready Yet

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Wilmore's return from the ISS has been delayed due to persistent issues with the Boeing Starliner capsule, including thruster failures and helium leaks.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been working on contributing to research and activities on the ISS since their arrival on June 6, 2024.

Source : NASA

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are experiencing an extended stay at the International Space Station (ISS) due to persistent issues with their Boeing Starliner capsule that was supposed to bring them back. Originally slated for a week-long mission concluding in mid-June, the astronauts have now been in orbit for over a month.

The Starliner has been plagued by thruster failures and helium leaks, leading NASA and Boeing to delay the astronauts’ return. Despite ongoing investigations and tests, a definitive return date remains undetermined. 

NASA has said the primary goal is to bring Wilmore and Williams back on the Starliner, but the agency is also considering SpaceX’s Dragon capsule as a backup option.

Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, stated that mission managers are not ready to announce a return date. "We’ll come home when we’re ready," news agency Associated Press quoted Stich as saying. He emphasised that "NASA always has contingency options”.

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What Are The Issues With Boeing Starliner?

According to reports, engineers are currently examining a spare thruster to identify the root cause of the failures, suspecting that degraded seals might be responsible for both the helium leaks and thruster issues. To gather more data, the Starliner’s thrusters are scheduled for test firing while docked at the ISS this weekend.

Earlier this month, a report revealed that NASA and Boeing were aware of a helium leak on the Starliner spacecraft before its June 5 launch. Despite this knowledge, they deemed it a minor issue that did not pose a safety risk and proceeded with the launch. However, after a 25-hour journey to orbit, the Starliner encountered four additional helium leaks, which rendered one of its thrusters unusable.

This unexpected problem has led to considerable delays in bringing astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth. Their departure from the ISS was initially planned for June 13 and then rescheduled to June 26, but both dates were subsequently cancelled. This extended stay represents a major setback for Boeing’s commercial crew program.

The Starliner’s previous test flights also faced challenges, including a failed mission to the ISS in 2019 due to software errors. Conversely, SpaceX has been successfully ferrying astronauts to and from the space station since 2020. Nonetheless, recent groundings of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, caused by an upper-stage failure, could potentially delay upcoming crew flights.