By Chris Skeldon 
NASA once again postponed the capsule's return to Earth Starliner From Boeing. The capsule and its first crew of astronauts were sent to the International Space Station, and a return date has not yet been set, in order to give the North American space agency more time to review the technical problems it encountered.
The space agency has not set a new date for the astronauts' return, raising doubts about the timing of Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams' return from Boeing's first crewed mission, scheduled for June 26, which was already a delay with respect to the first advance date (June 14).
“Mission managers are evaluating future return opportunities after two spacewalks scheduled for June 24 and July 2,” NASA said in a statement. statement. North American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams launched on June 5, after years of delay in implementing this project.
“We are taking our time and following the normal mission management team process,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager. “A Starliner “It works well in orbit while docking with the space station,” he said, adding that the additional time will provide “valuable insight” into system upgrades for future missions.
Classic leakage problem
The crewed test of the spacecraft, which has been tested twice since 2019 without humans on board, discovered five malfunctions in 28 manipulator thrusters, five helium leaks (intended to stress the thrusters) and a fuel valve indicating previously identified problems that had not been resolved. . It has been corrected.
These problems and additional testing by NASA and Boeing raise questions about the exact date the crew arrived Starliner They will be able to make the journey home, which will take about six hours, exacerbating the global aspects of the programme.
Boeing spent €1,400 million on additional costs on top of its $4,500 million development contract with NASA.
Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkiewicz/EPA
The North American Space Agency wants Starliner It becomes the second American spacecraft capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station, in addition to Dragon crew From SpaceX, its main flight since 2020. But the program Starliner Boeing has suffered from software failures for many years ProgrammingCapsule design problems and disputes between subcontractors.
when Starliner Near the space station, on June 6, five thruster malfunctions prevented the spacecraft from approaching until Boeing corrected: Rewrite Programming I modified some procedures to revive four of the thrusters and proceed with docking.
Disengage Starliner Returning to Earth is the most complex phase of a spacecraft testing mission. NASA officials want to better understand the cause of the propulsion failure, valve problems and helium leaks before launching the project. Starliner Start your comeback.
Although only one engine is currently not running in StarlinerBoeing encountered four fuel problems during the capsule's return to space in 2022, on a flight without a crew on board.
Flight rules set by Boeing and NASA require the aircraft to have maneuvering thrusters Starliner Allow “Six degrees of freedom of control“A NASA spokesman explained to Reuters news agency that each one has at least spare propellant. This would mean that at least 12 of the 28 thrusters, most of them spare, would be needed for a safe flight.