Boeing Capsule Docking Delayed By Failed Thruster Engines
(MENAFN- Live Mint) " (Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. and NASA needed to troubleshoot failed thrusters on the company's Starliner spacecraft as it approached the International Space Station on Thursday, delaying the initial scheduled docking time.
The Starliner craft and its crew of two astronauts were approaching the station, according to a live webcast of the mission. Docking was initially targeted for 12:15 p.m. New York time. A second docking opportunity opens at 1:33 p.m.
A handful of thrusters failed, but NASA was able to troubleshoot and bring most of them back online. The thrusters are tiny engines used to help maneuver Starliner through space.
NASA said Boeing can proceed with docking during the next window.
Starliner carried astronauts to space for the first time after launching on Wednesday on top of an Atlas V rocket operated by the United Launch Alliance LLC.
The trip, with NASA veteran fliers Sunita“Suni” Williams and Barry“Butch” Wilmore aboard, will evaluate whether the vehicle can safely transport people to and from space for NASA. Docking is a key milestone that Starliner needs to demonstrate during this test. Boeing was forced to perform two uncrewed test flights of Starliner after its first mission in 2019 failed to reach the ISS as planned. The company has also dealt with corroded valves, parachute issues, flammable tape and other issues. A last-minute helium leak pushed back this launch date by roughly a month. Those leaks have persisted and continue to be evaluated by NASA. Williams and Wilmore aim to enter the space station and stay for about a week. During that time, they'll unload cargo and practice procedures that future astronauts will use when flying to the space station on Starliner for long-term stays.
Once finished, they'll load back into Starliner for the journey home, another critical test the spacecraft needs to ace for this mission. Starliner is meant to keep the astronauts safe while plunging through Earth's atmosphere. It will ultimately land in the southwestern US underneath parachutes. NASA will use the data from this flight to determine if Starliner is ready to regularly transport the agency's astronauts to and from the ISS for six-month-long stays. If approved, Boeing will share that responsibility with NASA's other commercial partner, SpaceX, which since 2020 has been taking crews to the space station on its Crew Dragon. (Updates with details on failed thrusters in third paragraph.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
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