Boeing and NASA announced on Friday that they will once again have to postpone the return of the two astronauts from the Starliner mission to Earth, due to technical problems.
The return, scheduled for June 26, has been postponed until at least July 2, to allow engineering teams from Boeing and NASA to evaluate several problems that have arisen with the vehicle since its departure.
“We are taking our time and following the standard process of our mission management team,” Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, said in an update Friday evening.
“We are allowing the data to guide our decision-making regarding the management of small helium leaks in the system and the thrust performance we observed during rendezvous and docking,” he added.
In May, Boeing announced that the spacecraft would launch despite a helium leak that would not be repaired.
The Starliner crew left Earth on June 5 and was initially scheduled to return on June 13, but since June 9, their return has been continually postponed. The mission, which was originally scheduled to last one week, now extends to approximately twenty days.
The launch of the rocket, initially scheduled for May 6, has also been postponed several times, always due to technical problems.
“The crew feedback has been very positive, and they know that every lesson we learn from the crew flight test will improve and refine our experience for future missions,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and director of Boeing's Starliner program. Press release Friday.
In addition, extending their stay will allow the astronauts to perform two additional spacewalks, on June 24 and July 2, according to NASA's program.
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