Rock is a difficult place
Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner is still stuck on the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived at the station two months ago, do not yet have an official return date as the space agency evaluates its options.
It is like Ars Technique reportsEven if the doomed spacecraft returns to the surface with no astronauts aboard — reportedly an important option for NASA at this point — it may not even be on the table.
According to Ars‘ Sources, Starliner’s current flight software is not capable of autonomously undocking from the space station and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere – if confirmed, a confusing new wave to what has already turned out to be a disastrous manned flight test for Boeing and NASA.
Software update
Problems with the capsule’s control system thrusters caused long delays in Williams and Wilmore’s return. NASA is considering sending the pair back aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch to the ISS later this year.
Even this mission, however, could soon be postponed, moving from August 18 to September 24, according to Ars.
Why exactly the Starliner software is unable to perform autonomous docking procedures remains unclear. After all, Boeing already demonstrated this ability during its unmanned orbital flight test in May 2022.
Updating the software now would be a “non-trivial” and “significant” task that could take up to four weeks, according to Arswhich could explain why SpaceX’s next manned mission is delayed.
“Starliner was designed as a spacecraft to have the crew in the cabin,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew program manager, told reporters on July 25.
Did NASA buy time to update the software so Starliner could return autonomously? Given the latest report, it’s not unlikely.
More about Starliner: Boeing’s Stranded Starliner Failed So Spectacularly It Looks Like It Will Delay SpaceX’s Next Astronaut Launch
