Boeing's Starliner crew prepped for long stay aboard ISS as delays stymie return

The company has not given a firm return date, leaving the situation open to speculation

The Starliner spacecraft docked to the Harmony module of the International Space Station, orbiting 421km above Egypt's Mediterranean coast, on June 13, 2024. Nasa via AP

The crew that travelled aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) are settling in as technical concerns hinder their return to Earth.

Originally launched for about a week-long mission on June 5, the Starliner's journey back has been repeatedly postponed due to helium leaks and thruster issues.

Nasa astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who arrived there aboard Starliner, are helping other crew members with their daily tasks, while they wait for a return date to be set.

Boeing is insisting that the delays are because it wants to carry out extensive checks on the craft’s technical issues while it is docked at the station, as the service module will be discarded upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

But that has not stopped headlines around the world suggesting that “astronauts are stuck in space”, as the company and Nasa have not provided a firm return date, leaving the situation open to speculation.

Prepared for longer stay

Michael Flachbart, former vice president of global space camp operations at the US Space and Rocket Center, said the astronauts can return “anytime” but Nasa and Boeing are taking advantage of staying in orbit to understand the technical issues to make future, long-term missions possible.

“The crew and Nasa were always prepared for a longer mission in case of any number of scenarios,” said Mr Flachbart, who is now a strategic business consultant for companies that host space education programmes, including for Dubai-based Compass International's Space and Rocketery Academy.

“Therefore, food and supplies are not an issue. The Starliner is almost completely powered down while docked and is powered (batteries recharging) by the ISS while docked.”

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The company carried out a hot fire test on Starliner last month that helped most of the thrusters become functional again.

Now it is carrying out ground tests in New Mexico, in which it would be replicating thruster issues the craft had inside a vacuum chamber to learn more about the problem.

Mark Nappi, vice president and programme manager of the Commercial Crew Programme for Boeing, had said in a media briefing on June 28 that they could run one more hot fire test.

“So if (the test in New Mexico) comes back and gives us all the answers, then we can just undock and come home,” he said.

“If it comes back and says, ‘here’s 80 per cent of the answer. And if you just run one more docked hot fire, then you can get 100 per cent of the answers – then we want (Starliner) to be there so that we can get that information.”

Unknown date of return

Nasa said yesterday that once the ground testing and data analysis are complete, the agency and Boeing will carry out a review before a return date is set, with an update on the situation to be provided on Wednesday during a media briefing. It is not clear whether a date will be announced.

The Starliner launch was meant to help Boeing rebuilt its reputation, which was impacted by two crashes involving 737 Max 8 jets and a mid-flight door panel blowout on a 737 Max 9 jet earlier this year.

It has a $4.2 billion contract under Nasa's Commercial Crew Programme to help safely launch and bring back astronauts for the agency.

However, the development of Starliner has been plagued with delays because of various technical issues over the past decade.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is also part of Nasa's Commercial Crew Programme, has already launched eight crews for the agency.

“Part of the fault at the very beginning was due to the lack of clarity provided by Boeing and Nasa but they themselves were trying to first understand the issue fully before reporting back to the press,” said Mr Flachbart.

“Boeing's other issues involving its aviation business has also contributed to the media's negative coverage of Boeing in general.

“Therefore, Boeing Space and Starliner has suffered during this period from a lot more negative press than it deserves.

“The overall delays to this first Starliner crewed mission have also impacted the media's coverage.”