Boeing and NASA announced on Friday that they would once again have to postpone the return to Earth of the two astronauts from the Starliner mission, due to technical problems.
The return scheduled for June 26 was postponed until at least July 2, to allow engineering teams from Boeing and NASA to evaluate several problems that have arisen with the vehicle since its departure.
“We’re taking our time and following our mission management team’s standard process,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew program manager, said in an update Friday evening.
“We are letting the data guide our decision-making regarding the management of small helium leaks in the system and the performance of the thrusters that we observed during rendezvous and docking,” he added.
In May, Boeing announced that the spacecraft would take off despite a helium leak that would not be repaired.
The Starliner crew left Earth on June 5 and were initially scheduled to return on the 13th, but since June 9, their return has been continually postponed. The mission, originally planned for one week, now extends to nearly twenty days.
The launch of the rocket, initially scheduled for May 6, had also been postponed several times, always due to technical problems.
“The feedback from the crew has been extremely positive, and they know that every lesson we learn from the crew flight test will improve and refine our experience for our future missions,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and director of Boeing’s Starliner program, in a press release Friday.
In addition, the extension of their stay will allow the astronauts to carry out two additional spacewalks, on June 24 and July 2, according to the NASA program.
