Astronauts Stranded In Space Due To Boeing’s Starliner Issues

Two NASA astronauts are stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) due to multiple problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

This is another blow for Boeing as United States prosecutors this afternoon recommended that Boeing face criminal charges for violating a settlement agreement related to two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft. The two crashes in Ethiopia (Ethiopian Airlines) and Indonesia (Lion Air) in 2018 and 2019 killed a total of 346 people.

NASA and Boeing engineers are working to fix the Boeing Starliner issues, but with only 45 days of docking time available, the window for a safe return of the astronauts is closing.

NASA announced that troubleshooting has been extended for a third time, meaning that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will stay on the ISS until at least July. The astronauts were originally scheduled to return on June 13 after a week-long mission.

The Starliner successfully launched its first crewed flight on June 5. However, during the 25-hour flight, engineers discovered five helium leaks in the spacecraft’s thruster system.

Speaking about the Starliner helium system, Boeing’s Starliner program manager, Mark Nappi, said the helium system is “still not working like we designed it, so we’ve got to figure that out.”

Boeing’s Starliner has faced numerous setbacks since its inception. Part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Starliner was built to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit. While SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has completed 12 crewed flights since 2020, Starliner’s journey has been more troubled.

Starliner’s first uncrewed test flight in 2019 failed due to a software error. A second attempt was delayed by a fuel valve issue. Boeing also had to fix parachute problems and remove flammable tape from the capsule.

This mission is the third attempt to send a crew to the ISS, with previous missions canceled due to a vibrating oxygen valve and a computer glitch.

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Emmanuel Ejiofor

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