Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remain on the International Space Station (ISS), and their return to Earth in the Boeing Starliner capsule has been postponed again. The astronauts were initially scheduled to return home on June 14, but this was delayed due to thruster issues. However, there has been another delay, and the American space agency NASA has announced that their return will be further postponed to conduct additional analyses of problems encountered during the first flight and to avoid interference with upcoming spacewalks. As of now, there is no new date for the crew’s return to Earth.
The Starliner was launched on June 5, while Wilmore and Williams arrived at the ISS a day later. They were supposed to spend about seven days in orbit, but during the flight, there was a minor helium leak from the propulsion system, in addition to one noticed before the launch. When Starliner first attempted to approach the ISS and begin the docking process on June 6, five out of its 28 thrusters failed. Boeing managed to activate four of them, and the docking was subsequently completed successfully. Additionally, NASA analyzed an issue with a valve in the service module that was not properly closed.
The space agency had previously postponed the Starliner crew’s return several times, with the most recent “new” date being June 26, but there has been another delay. The Starliner will not head back to Earth until spacewalks scheduled for June 24 and July 2 are completed.
Despite the mentioned issues, NASA claims that the Starliner is functioning well in orbit while docked to the ISS, and the agency is using this time to carry out essential activities and preparations for the astronauts’ return.
