{"id":4535,"date":"2024-08-25T18:47:09","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T01:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=4535"},"modified":"2024-08-25T18:47:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T01:47:11","slug":"nasa-decides-to-keep-2-astronauts-in-space-until-february-nixes-return-on-troubled-boeing-capsule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abovecloud.xyz\/?p=4535","title":{"rendered":"NASA decides to keep 2 astronauts in space until February, nixes return on troubled Boeing capsule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASA decided Saturday it\u2019s too risky to bring two astronauts back to Earth in Boeing\u2019s troubled new capsule, and they\u2019ll have to wait until next year for a ride home with SpaceX. What should have been a\u00a0weeklong test flight\u00a0for the pair will now last more than eight months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seasoned pilots have been stuck at the International Space Station since the beginning of June. A cascade of vexing thruster\u00a0failures and helium leaks\u00a0in the new capsule marred their trip to the space station, and they ended up in a holding pattern as engineers\u00a0conducted tests and debated\u00a0what to do about the flight back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After almost three months, the decision finally came down from NASA\u2019s highest ranks on Saturday. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will come back in a SpaceX capsule in February. Their empty Starliner capsule will undock in early September and attempt to return on autopilot with a touchdown in the New Mexico desert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Starliner\u2019s test pilots, the pair should have overseen this critical last leg of the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine,\u201d said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The decision \u201cis a result of a commitment to safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson said lessons learned from NASA\u2019s two space shuttle accidents played a role. This time, he noted, open dialogue was encouraged rather than crushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis has not been an easy decision, but it is absolutely the right one,\u201d added Jim Free, NASA\u2019s associate administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a blow to Boeing, adding to the safety concerns plaguing the company on its airplane side. Boeing had counted on Starliner\u2019s first crew trip to revive the troubled spacecraft program after years of delays and ballooning costs. The company had insisted Starliner was safe based on all the recent thruster tests both in space and on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boeing did not participate in Saturday\u2019s news conference by NASA, but released a statement: \u201cBoeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft.\u201d The company said it is preparing the spacecraft \u201cfor a safe and successful return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rand Corp.’s Jan Osburg, a senior engineer who specializes in aerospace and defense, said NASA made the right choice. \u201cBut the U.S. is still left with egg on its face due to the Starliner design issues that should have been caught earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are both retired Navy captains with previous long-duration spaceflight experience. Before their June 5 launch from Cape Canaveral, Wilmore and Williams said their families bought into the uncertainty and stress of their professional careers decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During their\u00a0lone orbital news conference\u00a0last month, the astronauts said they had trust in the thruster testing being conducted. They had no complaints, they added, and enjoyed pitching in with space station work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilmore\u2019s wife, Deanna, said she and their daughters, along with family and friends, \u201cwere praying for a safe return on whatever spacecraft that may be.\u201d While they are disappointed that he will be away longer, \u201cwe know that it\u2019s the Lord\u2019s plan,\u201d she said via text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flight operations director Norm Knight said he talked to the astronauts Saturday and they fully support the decision to postpone their return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were few options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SpaceX capsule currently parked at the space station is reserved for the four residents who have been there since March. They will return in late September, their routine six-month stay extended a month by the Starliner dilemma. NASA said it would be unsafe to squeeze two more into the capsule, except in an emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The docked Russian Soyuz capsule is even tighter, capable of flying only three \u2014 two of them Russians wrapping up a yearlong stint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Wilmore and Williams will wait for SpaceX\u2019s next taxi flight. It\u2019s due to launch in late September with two astronauts instead of the usual four. NASA is yanking two to make room for Wilmore and Williams on the return flight in late February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA said no serious consideration was given to asking SpaceX for a quick stand-alone rescue. Last year, the Russian Space Agency had to rush up a\u00a0replacement Soyuz capsule\u00a0for three men whose original craft was damaged by space junk. The switch pushed their six-month mission to just over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, applauded the decision via X: \u201cGood to err on the side of caution for astronaut lives.\u201d Long missions are \u201cwhat astronauts work their entire career for. I\u2019d take it in a heartbeat!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starliner\u2019s woes began long before its latest flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad software fouled the first test flight without a crew in 2019, prompting a do-over in 2022. Then parachute and other issues cropped up, including a helium leak in the capsule\u2019s propellant system that nixed a launch attempt in May. The leak eventually was deemed to be isolated and small enough to pose no concern. But more leaks sprouted following liftoff, and five thrusters also failed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All but one of those small thrusters restarted in flight. But engineers were perplexed by ground testing that showed a thruster seal swelling and obstructing a propellant line. They theorized the seals in orbit may have expanded and then reverted to their normal size. Officials said the results marked the turning point, as their concerns grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all the uncertainty about how the thrusters might perform, \u201cThere was too much risk for the crew,\u201d Steve Stich, NASA\u2019s commercial crew program manager, told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These 28 thrusters are vital. Besides needed for space station rendezvous, they keep the capsule pointed in the right direction at flight\u2019s end as bigger engines steer the craft out of orbit. Coming in crooked could result in catastrophe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Columbia disaster still fresh in many minds \u2014 the shuttle broke apart during reentry in 2003, killing all seven aboard \u2014 NASA made an extra effort to embrace open debate over Starliner\u2019s return capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Saturday\u2019s decision, NASA isn\u2019t giving up on Boeing. Nelson said he is \u201c100%\u201d certain that Starliner will fly again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA went into its commercial crew program a decade ago wanting two competing U.S. companies ferrying astronauts in the post-shuttle era. Boeing won the bigger contract: more than $4 billion, compared with SpaceX\u2019s $2.6 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With station supply runs already under its belt, SpaceX aced its first of now nine astronaut flights in 2020, while Boeing got bogged down in design flaws that set the company back more than $1 billion. NASA officials still hold out hope that Starliner\u2019s problems can be corrected in time for another crew flight in another year or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—–Reprinted from \u201cAP News\u201d—–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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