Topics
belated
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:NASA(opens in a new window)
Apps
Biotech & Health
Climate
Image Credits:NASA(opens in a new window)
Cloud Computing
Commerce
Crypto
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
Fundraising
gadget
game
Government & Policy
Hardware
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
privateness
Robotics
security department
societal
Space
Startups
TikTok
Transportation
speculation
More from TechCrunch
upshot
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Podcasts
TV
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
touch Us
The delays are not over for Boeing ’s Starliner capsule . After years of delays , the aerospace giantfinally set up the spacecraftearlier this month , but the two - person crew will spend more than double the planned amount of clock time in space due to continuing technological issues on orbit .
On Tuesday , NASA and Boeing officials corroborate that spaceflight oldtimer Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will now return to Earth on June 26 , rather of the originally planned date of June 14 . In other words , they ’ll be spending at least 20 days on board the International Space Station ( ISS ) rather of just eight .
The postponement is to “ give our team a short bit more time to look at the datum , do some analyses and ensure we ’re really quick to come home , ” NASA official Steve Stich say during a news league Tuesday .
Engineers will go on to take a hard look at the technological problems Starliner has receive so far during this monstrance commission , including persistent atomic number 2 leaks in the propulsion system of rules and several thrusters that stopped put to work when the capsulewas in the final phase of rendezvousing with the ISS .
Four of the five thrusters that failed during the spacecraft ’s approach to the ISS have been resolved , but one pusher has stay offline , and engineers have settle to precede further attempts to bring it back online . However , Starliner has 28 thrusters overall , so a exclusive one malfunctioning will not affect the spacecraft ’s ability to undock from the ISS or fail to set the two astronauts on the correct path back to Earth . Engineers are also confident that the helium outflow rate would not impact Starliner being able to complete its remaining objectives , though they are still trying to determine the accurate grounds of the problem .
Part of the reason why engineer are taking their time to understand the issues is because the pusher and the helium leaks are locate in a part of the space vehicle known as the service module , which burns up in the atmosphere during reentry , Stich said .
Should engineers feel they have gather the data point they demand on the vehicle , and that it ’s primed for flight , mission commandant Wilmore and carbon monoxide - pilot Williams would undock from the ISS on June 25 and land at New Mexico ’s White Sands Test Facility at 1:51 a.m. PT the following daylight . The next opportunity for landing would be on July 2 .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Starliner is Boeing ’s long - await astronaut transportation solution , mean to be a second option to SpaceX ’s Dragon space capsule that ’s been taxi crowd to and from the ISS since 2020 . This flying test is the final tone before NASA certifies Starliner to start carrying out even missions , the first of which could take office as presently as early 2025 . While Stich was clear that no decision had been made as to whether to stay put to that schedule , he did say that the He leaks and pusher issues would need to be full understood and resolved prior to that first commission .
