Boeing delays Starliner return, NASA says no astronauts left behind

With NASA Boeing The two groups announced Friday they would extend Starliner’s first crewed flight but have not yet set a new target date for returning the capsule to Earth.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, Calypso, will remain aboard the International Space Station until next month while the company and NASA conduct new tests on the ground. Boeing’s crewed test flight will mark the first time Starliner will carry humans, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

Officials said the Starliner team has begun a testing campaign of the spacecraft’s thruster technology at White Sands, New Mexico, which is scheduled to be completed before Starliner returns to Earth.

“We anticipate that testing could take several weeks, and we’re trying to replicate the in-flight conditions as closely as possible on the ground,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew manager, said at a press conference.

Boeing and NASA had planned to keep Starliner in space for nine days before launching on June 5. As of Friday, Starliner’s flight was on its 24th day and still ongoing.

Despite the extended stay on the ISS, officials stressed that Starliner is always capable of returning home in the event of an emergency. NASA and Boeing say the test delay is only intended to gather more data on the spacecraft’s performance, particularly its thruster system.

“I want to be clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,” Stitch said.

Starliner’s crewed test flight is the last critical step before NASA gives Boeing the go-ahead to fly crew on a six-month operational mission. But like its two previous space flights, which were uncrewed, Starliner has faced some issues during the mission.

While NASA and Boeing have assured Calypso that it will always be ready for a safe return, the Starliner team wants to replicate the thruster issues that occurred while the spacecraft was approaching the ISS. Officials said the goal of the ground tests is to “make sure there are no anomalies” in the thruster performance.

Ground testing at White Sands is expected to begin as early as Tuesday.

“This will be a real opportunity to do a detailed inspection on the ground, to check the thrusters, just like we did in space, and once that testing is complete we’ll consider planning for landing,” Stich said.

“We’re not targeting any specific dates. [for return] Until that testing is completed,” he added.

Officials cited the reasons for keeping Starliner on the ISS while the White Sands test is taking place: Boeing and NASA say it allows teams to conduct thruster tests more frequently on the ground, as well as physically inspect the thrusters after the test launch.

While Starliner will be spending much longer in orbit than expected, NASA’s Stich noted the spacecraft is designed for missions of up to 210 days.

Representatives of the space agency and the company have repeatedly expressed confidence in the safety of the Boeing spacecraft. Officials said delaying the return to Earth was not a necessary decision to resolve a dangerous issue, but rather an optional choice to further study the Starliner during its experimental mission.

“We are not trapped on the ISS. The crew is not at risk and the decision to return Suni and Butch to Earth poses no increased risk,” said Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president of the Starliner program.