The mission of Boeing with his spaceship Starliner has become a new problematic chapter in the history of space exploration. What was supposed to be a short eight-day stay for the astronauts Suni Williams And Butch Wilmore on the International Space Station (ISS) It turned into an odyssey lasting over 75 days, with their return date still uncertain.
Technical problems and delayed return
The flight of the Boeing-designed Starliner has encountered a series of technical problems that have forced NASA to repeatedly delay the astronauts’ return. Despite assurances from Boeing and NASA that Williams and Wilmore are not “stranded,” the situation seems clear: Their return to Earth has been significantly delayed, and solutions are limited.
Mark NappiBoeing’s Starliner program manager, admitted in an interview with the New York Times that he’s not surprised the spacecraft is still in space. “I think we all knew it was going to last longer,” he said, expressing regret that he didn’t manage expectations better from the start. “We didn’t talk much about how much longer it was going to last, but I regret not saying right away that we were going to stay until we got everything we wanted to do done.”
Re-entry options and risks
Currently, the NASA is evaluating two options to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth. The first involves risking a return aboard the Starliner, despite the technical problems. The second, more embarrassing for Boeing, would be to have them return aboard a spacecraft SpaceX Crew Dragon early next year.
Ken BowersoxNASA’s associate administrator for space operations, acknowledged that time is running out. “It’s getting more difficult with the consumables that we’re using and the ports that we’re using,” he said in a conference call. “We’re getting to a point where by the last week of August we really should be making a decision.”
The risks are high: if the Starliner’s propulsion system were to malfunction after undocking from the ISS, it could lose control and even crash into the orbital station.
The Final Decision and Boeing’s Future
NASA is expected to announce its decision later this week, having given itself until mid-to-late August to decide. The outcome of this mission will not only impact the future of Boeing’s Starliner program, but will also have significant implications for the entire private space exploration industry.
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