Return date of Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore still uncertain, says Nasa

Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's mission, initially planned to last a week and conclude in mid-June, has now extended beyond a month as they remain in orbit

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Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are experiencing a prolonged stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) because of persistent problems with their Boeing Starliner capsule.
 

Their mission, initially planned to last a week and conclude in mid-June, has now extended beyond a month as they remain in orbit.
 

Starliner’s issues with thruster malfunctions and helium leaks have led National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and Boeing to delay the return of the astronauts. Although investigations and tests are ongoing, a specific date for their return is still undetermined.
 

The space agency’s main objective is still to return Wilmore and Sunita Williams aboard the Starliner. However, the agency is also contemplating the possibility of using SpaceX’s Dragon capsule as an alternative.
 

Steve Stich, the manager of Nasa’s commercial crew programme, stated that mission managers are not yet prepared to reveal a return date. He mentioned that the aim is to return Wilmore and Williams to the Starliner. “We’ll come home when we’re ready,” Stich said.

Testing of backup thrusters

Last week, engineers concluded testing on a backup thruster in the New Mexico desert. They plan to disassemble it to investigate the issues that arose before the Starliner’s docking.
 

A day after the capsule liftoff, five thrusters malfunctioned as the capsule neared the space station. Since then, four of these thrusters have been reactivated.
 

Preliminary findings suggest that degraded seals may be responsible for the helium leaks and thruster malfunctions — though these issues are distinct from one another.
 

Boeing’s Mark Nappi said that the team intends to test-fire the capsule’s thrusters while it is docked to the space station this weekend to collect additional data.
 

This marked Boeing’s inaugural test flight with a crew on board. The original demonstration in 2019, which involved an uncrewed flight, failed to reach the space station due to software issues. Boeing conducted a follow-up test in 2022.

[With agency inputs]