Boeing's Starliner capsule is performing well enough on its first-ever astronaut mission that it will likely be able to stay in orbit beyond the initially envisioned 45-day limit, NASA says. on an indefinite mission extension. The spacecraft is in good shape and rated to leave the ISS in case of emergency.
Thruster glitches and helium leaks can't stop Boeing's Starliner astronaut test flight — but why are they happening? Starliner, in fact, is rated to stay as long as 210 days on orbit once operational missions begin, he pointed out. But, as this is only Starliner's third mission in space, and its first with astronauts, NASA had been unsure about the battery performance in orbit before now.
Wilmore told Space.com on May 1, prior to launch, that the Navy gave the astronauts skills highly relevant to CFT, such as testing how systems work together."Well, goodness, that's really the reason that we are here," he said, reflecting on the duo'sCFT was meant to examine the unexpected in space, and has flexibility built into it in terms of scheduling.
Starliner's first two space missions were uncrewed. The first, in December 2019, failed to reach the ISS due to computer glitches that stranded it in the wrong orbit. The second, in May 2022, reached the ISS safely after Boeing made dozens of fixes, but Starliner's thrusters experienced a few issues; that's another reason NASA and Boeing are taking their time with CFT's return, to see why the spacecraft's thrusters misbehaved in both 2022 and 2024.vehicle.