NASA postpones return of first Starliner with crew indefinitely

NASA has indefinitely postponed the return of the first crewed Starliner flight. The American space agency wants to conduct more research into the causes of the technical problems that occurred during the launch.

NASA has announced that it needs more time to resolve the problems that occurred during the launch of the Boeing Starliner. to research. For example, five small helium leaks were found in the propulsion system. Five of the 28 thrusters also failed during docking with the International Space Station. Four of them are now working again.

ArsTechnica writes, based on its own sources, that this decision follows two days of consultations, during which top executives from NASA and Boeing examined whether the Starliner was ready for return to Earth. The site expects that executives are not yet confident that a return flight will go smoothly.

NASA has not mentioned a new launch date. However, a return flight is no longer possible this month, due to two planned ISS space walks. The space organization previously announced that Starliner can remain linked to the ISS for 45 days if necessary. That would mean that the spaceship must leave by the end of July at the latest. According to NASA, Starliner is still ready for departure should an emergency occur that requires the crew to leave the space station immediately.

The first crewed CST-100 Starliner was launched on June 5 after several delays. The crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, would initially stay on the space station for only eight days. However, the departure date was later postponed several times. The last concrete date communicated was Wednesday, June 26, but that plan has now also been cancelled.