NASA and Boeing say Starliner astronauts ‘are not stranded,’ but will remain on ISS for a few more weeks

NASA and Boeing plan to spend the next few weeks conducting ground tests to better understand problems with the Starliner spacecraft’s thrusters before giving its crew the green light to return to Earth. But officials insisted in a As of Friday afternoon, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are not “stranded” aboard the International Space Station. “We’re in no rush to get home,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s commercial crew program.

Starliner has been docked to the ISS since June 6 for what was supposed to be a 10-day flight test. However, as it approached the orbiting lab, the craft encountered problems with five of its thrusters, and a known helium leak appeared to worsen. NASA and Boeing have been working together to assess the problems since then. On Friday, representatives for both planes said they had not yet set a date for the return flight and would instead wait until ground testing is complete and all analyses are done. The first thruster tests, to be conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, are expected to begin as early as Tuesday.

It had initially been anticipated that Starliner could only stay docked with the ISS for a maximum of 45 days due to the limitations of its batteries, but Stich said at the conference that those batteries were recharged by the space station, which could extend that time. period. “I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stuck in space,” Stich said. “Our plan is to continue to get them back on Starliner and get them home at the right time. »