September 7th 2024.
The recent landing of Boeing's first astronaut mission was deemed a success, but it was not without its complications. As the capsule descended onto New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range, two test pilots, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, remained stuck in space. The decision was made by NASA to leave them there until next year, as their return was deemed "too risky."
The mission began back in June with the launch of Boeing's long-awaited crew debut. However, it quickly turned into a tense drama as the mission faced multiple challenges, including thruster failures and helium leaks. Despite months of troubleshooting, the engineers were unable to fully understand and rectify the issues with the capsule.
Boeing had insisted that the Starliner was safe for the astronauts to return in, but NASA ultimately disagreed. Instead, they booked a flight with SpaceX, which is set to launch later this month. This means that Wilmore and Williams will have spent over eight months in space, far longer than their initial quick trip.
The capsule glided smoothly across the desert before making a perfect landing, much to the relief of those involved in the mission. Wilmore and Williams were originally supposed to return in mid-June, but due to the technical issues, it was deemed too risky to bring them back in the Starliner.
With some fresh software updates and a fully automated system, the capsule made its way back to Earth with only some old station equipment in tow. Cameras on the space station and Nasa planes were able to capture the capsule's descent, which was met with cheers from the ground.
Although there were some minor issues during re-entry, the Starliner ultimately made a "bull's-eye landing," according to Nasa's commercial crew program manager, Steve Stich. Despite the successful return, he acknowledged that the decision not to have Wilmore and Williams on board was the right one. However, there is still a feeling of disappointment that the mission did not go according to plan.
Boeing did not participate in the post-landing news briefing, but two of the company's top space and defense officials, Ted Colbert and Kay Sears, expressed their support for NASA's ruling in a note to employees. They stated that they were proud of the spacecraft's performance and stand behind the agency's decision.
This mission for Starliner has been filled with delays and setbacks, with the first test flight in 2019 having to be repeated due to numerous problems. This resulted in a hefty repair bill of over a billion dollars. In contrast, SpaceX has successfully completed nine crew ferry flights for NASA since 2020, with another one planned for later this month.
The Dragon capsule will launch with only two astronauts, as two seats are reserved for Wilmore and Williams for their return trip. As experienced astronauts and retired Navy captains, they have now joined the seven other crew members on board the space station.
In the next few weeks, Starliner will be transported back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where further analysis will take place. Despite the challenges faced with this mission, NASA remains committed to having two US companies competing to transport astronauts. The goal is for SpaceX and Boeing to alternate launching crews once a year until the space station's planned abandonment in 2030.
Boeing's timeline to catch up with SpaceX may be tight, but the company has expressed its determination to continue with the Starliner. According to Steve Stich, it is still too early to determine when the next Starliner flight with astronauts will take place. He stated that it will take some time to assess the path forward for the mission.
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