Starliner launched to the International Space Station with two astronauts onboard in June and landed back on Earth two months later without them after issues were uncovered with the craft.
Now, more problems have surfaced during Starliner’s return, reaffirming NASA’s decision not to trust it with the lives of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
Starliner landed back on Earth this weekend, almost three months later than it was initially scheduled to touch back on terra firma.
The problems with Starliner left NASA with no choice but to leave astronauts Wilmore and Williams up on the ISS as they didn’t believe it was safe bringing them home on Starliner.
That decision is looking like a safe bet now, as Futurism reports that further issues arose with Starliner on its return to Earth this weekend: Signals on the capsule’s return were mixed.
It’s an awkward situation for the space agency: would Starliner have been able to ferry NASA’s missing crew members in the end?
“I think we made the right decision not to have Butch and Suni on board,” Stich told reporters on Saturday.
Boeing didn’t explain their absence, and the company has not made any officials available to answer questions since NASA chose to end the Starliner test flight without the crew aboard.
It’s unusual for NASA officials to publicly discuss how their opinions differ from those of their contractors.
Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for space operations, said Saturday that Boeing deferred to the agency to discuss the Starliner mission in the post-landing press conference.
Unquestionably, Boeing made a huge mistake with its maiden attempt at manned space travel. After problems with the spacecraft were discovered, Starliner, which had two astronauts on board when it launched to the International Space Station in June, returned to Earth two months later without them. Now that Starliner has returned, more issues have emerged, supporting NASA’s assessment that it cannot be trusted with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ lives.
This past weekend, nearly three months after its original scheduled return to Earth, Starliner made its second landing on the planet. The craft’s return was delayed due to problems discovered while in space, including thruster problems that occurred during the craft’s docking with the International Space Station.
Because of Starliner’s issues, NASA was forced to abandon astronauts Wilmore and Williams on the International Space Station (ISS) because they did not think it would be safe to return them home via Starliner. They will spend nearly eight months in orbit rather than the eight days that were originally scheduled when they board a SpaceX ship to return home next year.
As reported by Futurism, Starliner encountered additional problems during its weekend return to Earth, making that choice appear to have been wise.
There were conflicting signals upon the capsule’s return. In one sense, it accomplished a “bullseye landing,” as NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich put it. Conversely, the agency acknowledged that a fresh thruster had malfunctioned during the descent. During reentry, Starliner’s guidance system briefly went dark inside the capsule as well.
The space agency finds itself in an awkward situation: could Starliner have ultimately been able to transport NASA’s missing crew members?
“I believe we made the right choice in excluding Butch and Suni from the team,” Stich said to reporters on Saturday. “We’re all pleased with the successful landing. But then there’s a piece of us, all of us, that we wish it would have been the way we had planned it. “.
Starliner’s condition came under scrutiny after five of its 28 thrusters failed during its June docking with the International Space Station. In the months that followed, engineers discovered that the failure was due to overheating in certain parts, which isn’t a good look on a rocket engine that *checks notes* burns stuff as part of its job.
Despite Boeing’s assurances that it would be safe, NASA chose not to return the craft to Earth with Wilmore and Williams on board due to this and the severe conditions it would encounter during re-entry. As reported by Ars Technica, this divergent viewpoint only serves to emphasize the current chasm that separates Boeing and NASA.
Following Starliner’s landing, three NASA managers, including Stich, fielded questions from the media during a press conference early on Saturday. Additionally scheduled to participate in the panel were two representatives of Boeing, but they abruptly withdrew. Boeing has not provided an explanation for their absence, and since NASA decided to terminate the Starliner test flight without the crew on board, the company has not made any representatives available to answer inquiries.
NASA associate administrator Jim Free stated at a press conference on August 24 that the agency had decided how to terminate the Starliner test flight, saying, “We view the data and the uncertainty that’s there differently than Boeing does.”. It’s unusual for NASA officials to publicly discuss how their opinions differ from those of their contractors.
Boeing declined to discuss the Starliner mission with NASA during the press conference held after the landing, according to Joel Montalbano, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for space operations, who made this announcement on Saturday.
