As mission analysts examine issues that could affect Starliner’s return, NASA and Boeing stated they expect to have the first astronaut crew back to Earth from the International Space Station as soon as June 18.
Originally, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was expected to undock on Friday and return to Earth after flying its maiden crew of two NASA astronauts from Florida on June 5.
The mission is a crucial test before the US space agency certifies Starliner for ordinary flights.
NASA officials in Houston are juggling various factors when arranging Starliner’s return, including repairs to problematic components on Starliner, weather conditions, and ISS schedule issues such as spacewalks by other astronauts on the station. More changes to Starliner’s return date could be announced during its mission.
However, as of Tuesday, mission officials have set June 18 as the date for Starliner’s undocking from the station.
Depending on the weather, the spacecraft would land around six hours later in the desert of White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, Willcox Playa in Arizona, or other similar pre-determined locations.
Dina Contella, NASA’s deputy program manager for the ISS, said Tuesday that NASA had discovered a new issue with Starliner while it remained docked on the station: a sticky oxidizer valve.
A NASA blog posted on Monday indicated a new helium leak on Starliner’s propulsion system, adding to the four identified during its 24-hour trek to the space station last week.
During the voyage, five of its 28 maneuvering thrusters failed, but NASA and Boeing were able to reactivate four of them before docking with the orbital laboratory.
“The Starliner can stay docked with the ISS for up to 45 days”, NASA officials noted.
