'We're not stuck.' Why Boeing's Starliner isn't returning to Earth (yet)

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https://www.npr.org/2024/07/03/nx-s1-5026448/boeing-starliner-astronauts-space-station-return

'We’re not stuck.' Why Boeing’s Starliner isn’t returning to Earth (yet)

JULY 3, 2024 5:01 AM ET
Geoff Brumfiel

When astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5, they thought they’d be back in plenty of time for the Juneteenth holiday.

The two were test-driving Boeing’s newest spaceship, called Starliner. All they had to do was put it through its paces, dock briefly with the International Space Station (ISS), and come home. The entire mission was supposed to last around a week.

Instead, a series of leaks and malfunctions have caused NASA to indefinitely delay the duo’s return.

[...]

“We’re not stuck on ISS,” Mark Nappi, Boeing’s vice president for its Commercial Crew Program, told reporters in a news conference on June 28. “The crew is not in any danger and there’s no increased risk when we decide to bring Suni and Butch back to Earth.”

Here’s what’s going on with Boeing’s newest spacecraft.

[...]

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1. This says that they're checking the thrusters (inter alia) to make sure they're safe.

Early on, those in the know that were interviewed said that safety wasn't the real issue--the issue was they wanted to fix the problem and if they returned before they understood the problems they'd lose the part of the equipment with the problems and not be able to locate and solve them. (Not that they're likely to fix any problem.)

Not quite confirmed but hinted at in

Forczyk notes that the problems with the helium system and the thrusters are located in Starliner’s service module, a section of the spacecraft that will be jettisoned before landing. For that reason, she says, engineers may want to keep Starliner at the station longer, so they can gather more data from the module before it burns up during reentry.

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2. Thanks. nt