NASA says Boeing Starliner will extend its first astronaut mission well into the summer after launching June 5 for what was supposed to be a 10-day flight.
Starliner experienced both helium leaks and thruster issues during a June 6 docking with the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft is stable and rated to leave the ISS in case of emergency, Boeing and NASA leadership stress. But after testing the thrusters in space, NASA and Boeing said they want to take more time to understand the root cause.
A test campaign will start as soon as July 2 at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico to replicate how the thrusters were used during the flight, NASA commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said during a livestreamed update today (June 28) with reporters. The testing will take approximately two weeks, but that depends on what is found — and more analysis will be required afterwards. As such, NASA and Boeing do not yet have a landing date for Starliner.
