Boeing’s Starliner capsule blasted off from the ISS on Friday, September 6, to begin its return to Earth, without the two astronauts it had carried on its outing, due to concerns about the safety of the spacecraft.
The reputation of the American aeronautical giant, already tarnished by many Recent problems with their aircraft. – suffered another blow in June when a propellant failure and helium leaked in the capsule were detected at the time of the inaugural manned flight.
Despite the manufacturer’s attempts to convince NASA of the safety of its craft, the space agency preferred to recruit Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams through Boeing’s competitor, SpaceX, and its Crew Dragon capsule. The two astronauts, who will not return until next year, will remain in space for more than eight months, when they had initially planned to carry out a mission of… eight days.
NASA’s commercial human spaceflight program chief Steve Stich told reporters this week that despite Boeing’s confidence in its projections, the space agency was “not comfortable” with Starliner “because of the uncertainty around the model.”
A smooth return flight on Friday will be crucial for the US manufacturer, not only for its self-esteem but also for its future chances of obtaining further approvals for manned flights.
“Better understanding”
Starliner will autonomously begin undocking from the ISS shortly after 10 p.m. GMT. Its landing at a base in New Mexico in the southwestern United States is scheduled for 04:03 GMT on Saturday.
Ground teams will monitor Starliner’s performance in all aspects, particularly its thrusters, which experienced problems, during the deorbital boost that allowed it to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.
Steve Stich said NASA was primarily focused on the immediate tasks at hand.
Ten years ago, NASA commissioned Boeing and SpaceX to create new spacecraft to transport its astronauts to the ISS. With two vehicles, it does not want to be left without a solution in the event of a problem with one or the other.
But Elon Musk’s company has now far surpassed Boeing and has been playing the role of the American space taxi for the past four years.
This Starliner’s first flight manned, completed years late due to setbacks during development, was to be the final test before beginning regular operations.
Source: BFM TV
