Astronauts stranded in space due to multiple issues with Boeing's Starliner

[Axe]

https://www.livescience.com/space/sp...ght-is-closing

Astronauts stranded in space due to multiple issues with Boeing's Starliner — and the window for a return flight is closing
News
By Ben Turner published 7 hours ago

NASA and Boeing engineers are troubleshooting various faults in the Starliner spacecraft. But with only 45 days of docking time available, the window for return is closing.

Two NASA astronauts who rode to orbit on Boeing's Starliner are currently stranded in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after engineers discovered numerous issues with the Boeing spacecraft. Teams on the ground are now racing to assess Starliner's status.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after a week on the ISS, but their stay has been extended for a second time due to the ongoing issues. The astronauts will now return home no sooner than June 26th, according to NASA.

After years of delays, Boeing's Starliner capsule successfully blasted off on its inaugural crewed flight from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:52 a.m. EDT on June 5. But during the 25-hour flight, engineers discovered five separate helium leaks to the spacecraft's thruster system.

Now, to give engineers time to troubleshoot the faults, NASA has announced it will push back the perilous return flight, extending the crew's stay on the space station to at least three weeks.

"We've learned that our helium system is not performing as designed," Mark Nappi, Boeing's Starliner program manager, said at a news conference on June 18. "Albeit manageable, it's still not working like we designed it. So we've got to go figure that out."

The return module of the Starliner spacecraft is currently docked to the ISS's Harmony module as NASA and Boeing engineers assess the vital hardware issues aboard the vessel, including five helium leaks to the system that pressurizes the spacecraft's propulsion system, and five thruster failures to its reaction-control system.

After powering the thrusters up on June 15, engineers found that most of these issues appeared to be at least partially resolved, but their exact causes remain unknown. However, the Harmony module's limited fuel means Starliner can only stay docked for 45 days, so the window for a safe return flight is narrowing.

The issues are the latest in a long list of setbacks and headaches for Boeing's spacecraft. The company built the Starliner capsule as a part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a partnership between the agency and private companies to ferry astronauts into low Earth orbit following the retirement of NASA's space shuttles in 2011. SpaceX's Crew Dragon also came from this initiative and has racked up 12 crewed flights since it began operating in 2020.

But Starliner's first uncrewed test flight in 2019 was scuppered by a software fault that placed it in the wrong orbit, and a second attempt was held back by issues with a fuel valve. After more reviews last year, the company had to fix issues with the capsule's parachutes and remove around a mile (1.6 kilometers) of tape that was found to be flammable.

The current mission is Boeing's third attempt to take the crew to the ISS. The previous two were scrubbed by a vibrating oxygen valve on the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket on which Starliner was mounted (and which was developed by Lockheed Martin) and a computer glitch in a ground launch sequencer, respectively.

[Axe]

Mods, pls. fix thread title. Ty.

[highwhey]

if fatrick rolls over in bed, he may create enough gravitational force to pull the astronaut's spacecraft into earth.

[jstern]

A rare Axe thread, and of course it's Boeing/airplanes/disaster related.

You should be able to fix the title yourself. Just go to advance before it's too late.

Also delete, "An artist's rendition shows Boeing's CST-100 Starliner heading for a rendezvous with the International Space Station." And because the article is too long, highlight the important sentences.

Come on Axe, you're smarter than this.

[highwhey]

oh wow, another axe thread where jstern followed him like a lapdog. this is starting to become an obsessive hobby for jstern, following around axe, rr3, and myself. he just broke his own rule of not posting the nba forum today to post in my thread, i feel special.

[SATAN]

Wouldn't be surprised if jstern is stalking Axe irl.

[warriorfan]

oh wow, another axe thread where jstern followed him like a lapdog. this is starting to become an obsessive hobby for jstern, following around axe, rr3, and myself. he just broke his own rule of not posting the nba forum today to post in my thread, i feel special.

JStern has a high level of basketball iq.

[jstern]

oh wow, another axe thread where jstern followed him like a lapdog. this is starting to become an obsessive hobby for jstern, following around axe, rr3, and myself. he just broke his own rule of not posting the nba forum today to post in my thread, i feel special.

If you look at most of Axe's threads, I don't really participate in them. For example, the Japan's economy slumps into recession thread. or the Motorcycle Thread. Which unfortunately was a fail.

It's actually quite rare for me to post in an Axe thread.

JStern has a high level of basketball iq.

This is true. Which is why it's so hard for people to beat me one on one.

[Axe]

Wouldn't be surprised if jstern is stalking Axe irl.

Spot on. He's super autistic enough to stalk other posters he doesn't get along with and knows a lot about their posts or threads. Really quite creepy to put it frankly.

[highwhey]

If you look at most of Axe's threads, I don't really participate in them. For example, the Japan's economy slumps into recession thread. or the Motorcycle Thread. Which unfortunately was a fail.

It's actually quite rare for me to post in an Axe thread.



This is true. Which is why it's so hard for people to beat me one on one.

oh wow, you just lied. that's very interesting bc you don't usually lie. are you OK? you chose threads from 4 years ago as examples. i'm choosing a recent one.

in the first 20 pages, axe has one thread only. this one. and you posted in it. which means you have posted in 100% of axe's threads in the first 20 pages.

[Patrick Chewing]

if fatrick rolls over in bed, he may create enough gravitational force to pull the astronaut's spacecraft into earth.

Tu pinche madre, cabron.

[BurningHammer]

If you look at most of Axe's threads, I don't really participate in them. For example, the Japan's economy slumps into recession thread. or the Motorcycle Thread. Which unfortunately was a fail.

It's actually quite rare for me to post in an Axe thread.



This is true. Which is why it's so hard for people to beat me one on one.

[BurningHammer]

JStern has a high level of basketball iq.

[highwhey]

Tu pinche madre, cabron.

how many tons do you weigh? i can use this simple equation to figure out how you can attract the astronauts to earth using your large mass/severe obesity and gravity.

[Axe]