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Boeing’s Starliner capsule continues a thorough inspection during its first-ever astronaut mission.
Starliner launched on June 5, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) for a cruise known as the Crew Flight Test (CFT).
The Boeing CFT mission was originally supposed to remain docked at the orbiting laboratory for about a week, but NASA announced over the weekend that the mission will continue until at least June 18. The extra time will allow astronauts on the International Space Station to prepare for Thursday (June). The spacewalk is scheduled to take place on September 13, and Willmore, Williams and ground teams will continue to conduct inspections on their Starliner spacecraft, agency officials explained. (You can follow our coverage of Starliner live updates for more details.)
Some of these checks focus on the potential impact of helium leaks, five of which have been discovered aboard the Starliner so far. One was spotted prior to launch, but was ultimately deemed to pose no significant risk to the mission’s overall success. Four more have now been discovered while the Starliner is in space, but that’s not necessarily cause for concern.
“Engineers evaluated the helium supply based on current leak rates and determined that the Starliner had ample margin to support its return flight from the station,” NASA officials wrote in a letter. CFT updated on Monday (June 10).
“Only seven hours of free flight time are needed to perform a normal end to the mission, and the Starliner currently has enough helium in its tanks to support 70 hours of free flight activity after separation,” they added.
Starliner also experienced some problems with its Reaction Control Propulsion System (RCS) on its way to the International Space Station. The capsule had 28 of these small thrusters in its service module, five of which misbehaved at some point during the journey to orbit. Four of those five were quickly brought back online, but one remained offline.
Members of the mission team continue to analyze the past performance of this thruster, and plan to test it and others toward the end of the mission.
“Ground teams plan to fire all 28 RCS engines after undocking to collect additional data signatures on the service module engines before exhausting the hardware,” NASA officials wrote in the update. “As part of normal operations, the service module separates from the crew module upon reentry, so NASA and Boeing will collect as much data as possible to assist in system evaluations.”
Meanwhile, Wilmore and Williams were evaluating Boeing’s “Blue” spacesuits and Starliner seats for fit, comfort, and functionality and evaluating the airflow aboard the capsule.
They also turned the capsule off and on again and performed “safe haven” checks, which were designed to show that a docked spacecraft could serve as a refuge for astronauts in the event of an emergency aboard the International Space Station.
June 18 is still the “not before” target for the CFT, and is not a specific return date. When Starliner returns to Earth, it will land on solid ground in the southwestern United States, NASA officials said.
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