NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams have recently opened up about the problems that their Boeing Starliner craft has faced when bringing them up into space to dock at the International Space Station (ISS).
Though both astronauts have been at the ISS for weeks longer than they initially planned, both have explained that they feel highly confident that the Starliner capsule can safely bring them home, back down to Earth.
A Month Long Stay
Initially, when the Starliner docked at the ISS, Wilmore and Williams were only planning on staying aboard the space station for a few weeks.
Now, thanks to various problems with the Starliner craft upon docking, NASA has ordered both astronauts to stay on the ISS for much longer. So far, they’ve been on the ISS for more than a month.
Stranded in Space
Though NASA has come out to reassure the public that the two astronauts are not stranded in space, the agency also had to explain that there has not yet been a return date for Williams and Wilmore to actually come back down to Earth.
Now, many tests are being run by Williams and Wilmore up on the ISS, as well as Boeing and NASA here on Earth.
Wilmore Says He’s Confident in the Starliner
In a recent news conference, Wilmore and Williams were able to open up for the first time about Starliner and its issues upon docking.
Even with these issues that have popped up, Wilmore has explained that he’s confident in the Boeing craft. “We’re absolutely confident,” Wilmore said.
Starliner Will Eventually Bring Both Astronauts Home
Boeing’s Starliner will, in the coming weeks, finally bring both Wilmore and Williams home — even though NASA hasn’t announced an actual date this will happen yet.
Still, Wilmore remains confident. He explained, “I have a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home, no problem.”
Going Through Simulations
Wilmore and Williams also explained that they — alongside NASA and Boeing — have gone through countless simulations. The pair has also tested a “Safe Haven procedure”, which allowed them to shelter inside the Starliner in case they need to undock from the ISS suddenly.
Williams added, “We’ve been through a lot of simulations…and I think where we are right now…I feel confident that if we had to, if there was a problem with the International Space Station, we could get in our spacecraft, we could undock, talk to our team, and figure out the best way to come home.”
When Will These Astronauts Return Home?
Though NASA hasn’t released a date for when Williams and Wilmore will finally return to Earth, the astronauts did open up about when we can expect this in their news conference.
According to Butch and Suni, they’ll return once Boeing and NASA finish their thruster testing down on Earth, which will happen this week.
Looking at Starliner’s Thrusters
This testing will replicate Starliner’s docking, which saw many thrusters fail and go offline. The testing will also look at what these specific thrusters will do when the Starliner officially undocks from the ISS on its way back to Earth.
Dan Niedermaier, the lead Boeing engineer for this thruster testing mission, has released a statement, saying, “We really want to understand the thruster and how we use it in flight. We will learn a lot from these thruster firings that will be valuable for the remainder of the Crew Flight Test and future missions.”
Running Tests
Though five of these thrusters shut off, four have already been reactivated. Wilmore has stated that there are enough thrusters that are working accurately to get them out of orbit. However, he’s also stated that bigger engines within Starliner could also kick in to help, if needed.
“That mantra you’ve heard, failure is not an option, that’s why we are staying here now,” Wilmore explained. “We trust that the tests that we’re doing are the ones we need to do to get the right answers, to give us the data that we need to come back.”
Staying on the ISS
Williams and Wilmore will continue to stay on the ISS as NASA and Boeing run these tests on Earth.
The astronauts have stated they don’t mind, as they’ve been helping out the rest of the ISS crew with day-to-day tasks.
Helping Other Astronauts on the ISS
Williams and Wilmore have been able to help out with many tasks while on board the ISS, which has further allowed other astronauts on the space station to prepare for their own upcoming departure.
NASA recently said, “Since their arrival on June 6, Wilmore and Williams have completed half of all hands-on research time conducted aboard the space station, allowing their crewmates to prepare for the departure of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft.”
Many Starliner Problems
Since even before Starliner’s launch, the Boeing craft has faced various problems. The actual liftoff of Starliner had been delayed many times — often, just hours or even minutes before the launch time.
Before the Starliner launch, Boeing engineers realized that a small helium leak was on the craft. However, they stated that this leak was small and wouldn’t be an issue.
