NASA says no return date yet for astronauts and Boeing capsule at space station

Date:

Share post:


Already more than a month late getting back, two NASA astronauts will remain at the International Space Station until engineers finish working on problems plaguing their Boeing capsule, officials said Thursday.

Test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to visit the orbiting lab for about a week and return in mid-June, but thruster failures and helium leaks on Boeing’s new Starliner capsule prompted NASA and Boeing to keep them up longer.

NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said mission managers were not ready to announce a return date.

“We’ll come home when we’re ready,” said Stich, adding that the goal is to bring Wilmore and Williams back aboard Starliner.

Stich acknowledged that backup options are under review.

Engineers last week completed testing on a spare thruster in the New Mexico desert and will rip it apart to try to understand what went wrong during docking. Five thrusters failed as the capsule approached the space station on June 6, a day after liftoff. Four have since been reactivated.

It appeared degraded seals are to blame for the helium leaks and thruster problems, but more analysis is needed. The team will test-fire the thrusters this weekend while docked to the space station to gather more data, said Boeing’s Mark Nappi.

After the space shuttles retired, NASA hired private companies for astronaut rides to the space station, paying Boeing and SpaceX billions of dollars.

This was the Boeing’s first test flight with a crew aboard. SpaceX has been ferrying astronauts since 2020.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.



Source link

Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

Recent posts

Related articles

Judge issues summary judgment ruling in bankruptcy case of Deion Sanders' son Shilo

A federal judge has issued a ruling in the bankruptcy case of Shilo Sanders, giving the Colorado...

After investigating Jan. 6, House GOP sides with Trump and goes after Liz Cheney

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wrapping up their own investigation on the Jan. 6 2021 Capitol attack, House Republicans...

'Have some human decency': Madison mayor gets angry in press conference on school shooting

The mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, got angry with reporters at a press conference Tuesday about the shooting...

Lubbock doctor guilty of inappropriately touching employee during exam

A Lubbock anesthesiologist faces up to a year in jail after a jury found he inappropriately touched...

Abundant Life Christian School shooting latest: Motive appears to be combination of factors, police say

Officials are trying to determine why a 15-year-old girl allegedly opened fire at her school, Abundant Life...

RFK Jr.'s nomination could be a tough pill to swallow for these Republicans and Democrats. Here's why.

WASHINGTON – When President-elect Donald Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health...

Syrian mass graves expose "machinery of death" under Assad, top prosecutor says

By Timour Azhari and Anthony DeutschQUTAYFAH, Syria (Reuters) - An international war crimes prosecutor said on Tuesday...

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has a nasty display issue. Here’s what’s wrong

If you own a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, there’s some unfortunate news. Several users have reported that...