The summer space soap opera is coming to an end, with the imminent return of the Starliner Calypso to Earth without the crew with whom it went up to the International Space Station (ISS) in June. NASA has confirmed in a press conference its plans to separate the problematic ship at 0:04 this Saturday (Spanish peninsular time) and the spokesmen of the American space agency have expressed “confidence” that the capsule will land without problems 5 hours and 59 minutes later, after a remote-controlled descent, at the White Sands space base (New Mexico, USA).
Despite this, the latest appearance has made it clear that NASA has lost confidence in this Starliner to be able to bring back to Earth its two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, and that the decision to have them return in February 2025 in a SpaceX ship has strained relations with the aeronautical company. Willmore and Williams arrived at the space station on June 6, for a mission of just over a week and, after a summer full of postponements and uncertainties about the final decision, on August 24 both finally learned that those eight days will end up being at least eight months.
The date on which Starliner spacecraft will be able to enter service to establish a regular line of manned space flights to the ISS remains up in the air. With the aim of competing in this task with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has been operating since 2020, Boeing has developed its most ambitious space program to date. The initial plan was to start these regular flights in 2018. But after multiple delays and the fiasco of the current manned test mission —with multiple failures in the propulsion system—, it is now ruled out that the Starliner will enter service before the summer of 2025. And that, in the best case scenario: first, everything depends on a successful return maneuver tomorrow; in addition to the tests and improvements aimed at NASA regaining confidence in Boeing.
The first of these re-evaluations will take place during the capsule’s return flight. Numerous anomalies during the outbound flight have led to a slight change in the Starliner’s return flight. First, according to Dana Weigel, NASA’s program manager for the International Space Station, the capsule will separate from the orbital complex with a faster boost than it would if it were manned by astronauts, capable of taking manual control of the flight if necessary. The initial idea was for a more gradual separation, in which astronauts could make a gentle farewell lap around the ISS.
Steve Stich, director of NASA’s commercial human spaceflight program, announced that as soon as the ship is far enough away from the ISS, tests will begin with very brief firings of several of the thrusters. What is not clear is whether they will be the thrusters that gave problems or failed on the outbound flight, or if they will be similar ones but apparently intact. “The goal is to continue learning.” [más allá de los tests realizados estos meses en los que la nave ha permanecido amarrada a la estación espacial]”We want to know how the thrusters behave right after undocking,” Stich said.
Clash between Boeing and NASA
This is the only time to carry out final tests with the failed thrusters, as they belong to the service module, which is disposable and separates from the ship and disintegrates upon re-entry into the atmosphere. From there, the ship will continue to separate from the ISS. and the key moment of the return will take place about five hours laterwhen the big engine burn will take place that will deorbit Starliner and begin its dizzying descent. This crucial maneuver is carried out by the ship’s main thrusters, and none of them have shown any signs of problems.
What did continue to worry NASA was that the type of thrusters that failed, those of the service module, were involved in the maneuvers to leave the capsule correctly oriented for its reentry into the atmosphere. If all goes well, the Starliner Calypso It will land gently, thanks to its parachutes, at the base of White Sands at 6:03, Spanish peninsular time.
Following tests carried out over the summer, both on the craft itself in orbit and on thrusters on the ground, and also through simulations with computer models, Boeing gave its approval for the return of astronauts on the Starliner. “They were confident in the model they had created to predict the degradation of the thrusters throughout the flight. But the NASA team reviewed that model and saw certain limitations,” explained Stich, who thus justified that these uncertainties led the US space agency to consider that there could be too much risk for the astronauts.
In response to rumours that the meeting between NASA and Boeing in which the decision was made ended in shouting matches, Stich denied that it had gone that far, but did acknowledge that “there was some tension in the room” and that “as always when these kinds of decisions are made, there was a tense technical discussion, but I wouldn’t say that the discussion got heated.” There was no Boeing spokesperson at the press conference, although they were present at previous press conferences.
A strange noise in the ship
The climate of distrust that has spread towards the Starliner, both in the aerospace community and in public opinion, was made clear this week, with the news that astronaut Butch Williams had detected strange sound pulses coming from the Boeing craft from the ISS. The famous Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield – now retired – was quick to declare that “it is not the kind of noise I would like to hear on my ship.
In the face of the unleashed unrest, NASA was forced to issue a statement in which he said that the sounds “are emitted by a speaker on the Starliner due to an audio configuration adjustment between the ship and the ISS. It is a common occurrence. […] This loudspeaker return has no impact on the crew, station or spacecraft, including planned undocking operations.”
At the last press conference on the mission, NASA spokespeople explained that last-minute checks would take place minutes before the undocking – scheduled for 0:04 on Saturday. If any parameter were unfavourable, including the weather forecast at the landing site, the return would be postponed and the next opportunity would be four days later.
Looking ahead to the Starliner spacecraft, NASA has hinted at the modifications it will require Boeing to make, even if the Calypso capsule does land successfully. “Clearly, the way we’re firing the thrusters is causing them to overheat,” Stich said, noting that most of the thrusters have worked without a hitch. He said the space agency believes the problems should be solved with changes in the way the thrusters are used. This way, it would not be necessary to alter its design.
Without a clear timetable for the next steps for the future of the joint Boeing-NASA program, what is known are the details of how it will affect subsequent crews on the International Space Station. The mission is scheduled to arrive this September Crew-9 from SpaceX, which was to take four new crew members to the ISS. A week ago it was announced that there will finally be two —American Nick Hague and Russian Alexander Gorbunov— to make room for the Starliner astronauts on the return flight in February 2025.
Two women remain on land for the moment. that were part of the Crew-9: Commander Zena Cardman and specialist Stephanie Williams, who will continue to wait for a new opportunity to make their dream of spending six months working on the space station come true. They have had to give up that privilege to Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had already spent long stays on the ISS and did not expect to repeat the experience. The unexpected opportunity has come to them thanks to a space soap opera, produced by Boeing and NASA, which will make us remember them as “the two astronauts trapped on the Space Station.”
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