Boeing says Starliner hot fire test on ISS went well with return date decision coming up

As Boeing’s Starliner nears two months in space, groups carried out a scorching fireplace check of thruster efficiency and helium leaks on the spacecraft over the weekend to assist inform the choice of when the spacecraft will come residence and if its two NASA astronaut passengers shall be coming with it.

Boeing introduced in a press launch the check of the Starliner’s Response Management System (RCS) thrusters was carried out Saturday afternoon whereas it was docked to the Worldwide Area Station. Groups with NASA and Boeing additionally monitored the helium system for the Crew Flight Take a look at mission.

“Each groups have been very pleased with the outcomes,” mentioned NASA’s Starliner flight director Chloe Mehring within the press release.

The spacecraft arrived on the ISS on June 6 one day after launching from Cape Canaveral Area Power Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board.

Dubbed the Crew Flight Take a look at mission, the astronauts are amid the primary crewed flight of the spacecraft as a part of Boeing’s efforts to have it licensed to be used alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS as a part of NASA’s Business Crew Program.

Authentic plans have been to have Starliner solely docked to the ISS for about eight days earlier than a deliberate return flight residence that might take Wilmore and Williams for a touchdown in one in every of a number of desert websites within the the Southwest United States.

However throughout their journey to the station, Starliner had 5 of its RCS thrusters fail whereas additionally figuring out a number of helium leaks within the spacecraft’s propulsion system, which is housed within the hooked up service module, {hardware} that shall be jettisoned earlier than reentry.

The Starliner, although, safely docked and the valves have been shut to stop any additional helium leaks. Groups have been additionally capable of get all however one of many thrusters again on-line, though at decreased energy.

Boeing and NASA in time determined to carry off any return journey plans as they labored by way of floor testing to simulate the stresses the thrusters the spacecraft endured on the journey up and determine why a few of them failed whereas additionally delving into the helium leak problem. Final week, the doubtless causes for each have been revealed throughout a press convention, and the trail towards a choice for a return journey residence was laid out.

That included this weekend’s scorching fireplace check.

Groups sequentially fired 27 of the spacecraft’s RCS thrusters for one pulse every to substantiate their energy. Aft-facing thrusters have been fired for 1.2 seconds whereas the remainder have been fired for .40 seconds, in response to Boeing.

“The built-in groups between Starliner and ISS labored extraordinarily nicely collectively this week to finalize and safely execute the docked scorching fireplace sequence,” mentioned Mehring.

Boeing said the thrusters carried out “at peak thrust score values, starting from 97–102%,” in response to the discharge.

The corporate said the helium system additionally remained steady, and famous an RCS oxidizer isolation valve that was not correctly fitted totally was now working usually after it opened and closed a number of instances.

“The final a number of weeks have been actually useful to know the helium and thruster anomalies and how one can tackle these issues for future flights,” mentioned Boeing’s VP of business crew Mark Nappi throughout a press convention final week. “That is been the actual objective right here, is to have the ability to tackle future flights and to realize the arrogance that we would have liked.”

Boeing is on contract to offer six journeys to the ISS, however NASA on Friday revealed the earliest that the primary mission, Starliner-1, would happen can be August 2025, which might enable Boeing time to place in corrective fixes to the service module primarily based on this mission’s findings.

The recent fireplace check follows one carried out within the weeks after it arrived on the ISS, and paves the way in which for NASA to carry a Flight Take a look at Readiness Overview doubtless later this week.

The outcomes of the overview will decide when Starliner shall be undocked from the station and if Williams and Wilmore shall be on board when it flies residence.

Boeing mentioned undocking dates can be found all through August, however NASA should decide on getting both that spacecraft residence or sending the Crew-8 astronauts which were on board since March of their Crew Dragon spacecraft to make room for the Crew-9 replacements flying up on their very own Crew Dragon.

The Crew-9 flight is at the moment on schedule to fly up no sooner than Aug. 18. NASA would favor to do a handover in order that each Crew-8 and Crew-9 are on board on the identical time, one thing that might require Starliner to vacate its parking spot, as there are solely two ports on board the ISS able to having both Dragon or Starliner docked.

NASA Business Crew Program Supervisor Steve Stich mentioned final week that returning Williams and Wilmore to Starliner stays the popular alternative, however that alternate options have been laid out as nicely.

“I feel we’re beginning to shut in on these last items of the flight rationale to make it possible for we will come residence safely, and that is our major focus proper now,” Stich mentioned.

“We have now contingency choices. We have put these in play. NASA at all times has contingency choices. We all know a little bit little bit of what these are, and we have not labored on them an entire bunch. However we form of know what these are. However proper now we’re actually centered on bringing Butch and Suni residence on Starliner.”

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