Astronauts on Boeing Starliner remain stranded at International Space Station

Nearly two months after launch and nearly 50 days after their initial planned return to Earth, two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station appear to be one step closer to returning home. They were stranded aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft because of a malfunction that has once again raised questions about the technology and engineering capabilities of a company that has endured several major scandals.

The two astronauts aboard the Starliner, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Sunny” Williams, stayed aboard the International Space Station longer than initially planned, though both NASA and Boeing insisted the crew were not “stranded” as some headlines had suggested. They had oxygen and supply reserves and could use other spacecraft docked at the station if they needed to return to Earth quickly.

The trip had been planned as a test flight for the spacecraft, and Boeing and NASA said time spent in space to understand and fix the spacecraft’s problems – multiple helium leaks and unexpected thruster shutdowns – was invaluable.

“We don’t understand these problems well enough to permanently solve them, and the only way we can do that is by spending time in this unique environment getting more data and running more tests,” Mark NappiBoeing Commercial Crew Program Vice President and Program Manager said in a statement June Press Conference.

On Saturday, NASA and Boeing engineers tested 27 of the spacecraft’s 28 thrusters, the system responsible for propelling Starliner into space. NASA announced The tested thrusters performed well enough to bring the spacecraft back to Earth, and after reviewing the test data, Boeing and NASA will determine a date for the spacecraft and its crew to depart the space station.

But that doesn’t mean Boeing’s space program is on track. Boeing has struggled since signing its initial contract with the U.S. government, and it’s unclear whether the company will be able to change course in time to have Starliner ready to carry out the missions it’s designed to carry out.

NASA and Boeing’s original plan was to have Starliner regularly carrying astronauts to the International Space Station by this year. To do this safely, test flights like this one are needed because the problem is – Even fatal —is not unheard of in terms of space travel.

However, Starliner encountered problems before it even took off. The initial launch date was May 6, but the launch was delayed due to a malfunction in the pressure regulating valve of the liquid oxygen tank, as well as the liquid hydrogen source. Rocket propulsionThen, the helium leaked Service Module – in The propulsion system is located inmany of the spacecraft’s instruments became stuck and disconnected from the spacecraft during its return to Earth – delaying the launch from its original May 25 date.

Although engineers knew the leaks were controllable, three more helium leaks occurred while the spacecraft was docked at the ISS on June 6. At that time, there were also problems with five of the Starliner’s 28 reaction control system thrusters, which help the spacecraft navigate. This meant the spacecraft could not dock at the ISS until engineers on the ground could figure out how to position the spacecraft to dock safely.

After ground testing at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico and in space, the thrusters appear to be functioning properly, which is critical for the astronauts’ return to Earth. Essentially, the crew will now be able to Pointing to the Starliner The spacecraft is propelled by a different engine on its return, and then it is oriented in the right direction. Helium can also leak, Seems to have stabilized. However, a date for the return mission has yet to be determined.

“I don’t think it would be anything serious or life-threatening,” said Laura Forczyk, executive director of space consultancy Astralytical. Tell NPR“I just think they should have been extra cautious because the car wasn’t operating normally.”

Boeing’s commercial space program has always been fraught with difficulty, and this isn’t just the Starliner test mission.

There have been three launch problems since the joint venture between Boeing and NASA began in 2014. A 2019 test flight of the spacecraft had to be ended early because of a software problem that prevented the spacecraft from docking with the International Space Station. (There was no crew on that flight.) Starliner, still unmanned at the time, successfully docked with the International Space Station in 2022, although there were some other technical problems in the process.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has already made several successful trips to space since 2020 — and if there are other issues with the Starliner, one of the vehicles Williams and Wilmore could use to get back to Earth is SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

The first Starliner mission will carry at least Three astronautstentatively scheduled for No earlier than August 2025This will give NASA and the Boeing team time to work out the problems that arose during this test flight. By then, the purpose of the entire project will be almost meaningless; the International Space Station Scheduled to close in 2030.

Boeing’s aerospace problems are just part of the problems plaguing the company, which makes mostly commercial airplanes and Defense Industry The company has come under intense scrutiny over a number of dangerous failures of its 737 Max commercial aircraft.

In January, there was a terrifying incident when the door plug popped open on an Alaska Airlines flight. Two more fatal crashes occurred in 2018 and 2019. As Whizy Kim of Vox reports Wrote in January:

Other problems kept cropping up, one thing Boeing planes had in common: Boeing 737 aircraft failure Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been scheduled to fly on the plane. A wheel on the nose of a Delta Air Lines plane manufactured by Boeing Crashed before takeoff. Anti-ice system failure If the pilot forgets to shut down the engine after five minutes, it could cause the engine to disintegrate. Drilling Error“Loose bolts” — two words no one ever wants to hear in connection with their aircraft — is unveiling Decades of security breaches and costly violations At Boeing.

Boeing and Alaska Airlines are also involved in litigation over the January accident. Boeing and the Justice Department have Reaching a plea agreement The crashes involved Lion Air flights in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines flights in 2019, which killed 189 and 157 people, respectively. Boeing will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the FAA in its evaluation of the 737 Max, likely avoiding a criminal trial that could have exposed more wrongdoing.

According to the agreement, the company will be fined $487.2 million and must compensate the victims’ families. Opposition to the agreement.

Boeing’s many serious mistakes were, As Vox’s Marin Cogan wrote in MarchPart of the reason is the company’s highly corporate structure, which in recent decades has focused more on shareholder returns than on sound engineering.

All of these problems — the space program delays, the serious accidents of the 737 Max — are part of the same problematic system at Boeing. Whether the company will confront its problems and change the way it operates remains to be seen.