NASA announced on Friday that Boeing’s Starliner capsule, launched last week after several delays, will remain longer at the International Space Station (ISS) to undergo additional testing.
Boeing and NASA had originally planned so that the “Calypso” capsule will stay in space for about nine days. Now, according to the agency, flight commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams will remain on the ISS until at least June 22.
“We continue to understand Starliner’s capabilities to prepare for the long-term goal of flying a six-month docked mission to the space station,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, wrote Friday in a blog post . , announcing the extension of the mission. “The crew will perform additional hatch operations to better understand its handling, repeat some ‘safe harbor’ tests and evaluate piloting using the forward window.”
According to NASA, these tests include operating the capsule’s hatch, firing seven of its thrusters and checking the air temperature in the cabin.
“We have an incredible opportunity to spend more time on station and perform more tests that provide invaluable data unique to our position,” wrote Mark Nappi, vice president and manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, in the same blog post . “As the integrated teams at NASA and Boeing have said every step of the way, we have plenty of margin and time on station to maximize the learning opportunity for all partners – including our crew.”
The extension, which essentially doubles the duration of the mission, comes after the crewed test flight was postponed twice in May due to a helium leak and valve problems. Shortly before its planned launch on June 1, the mission had to be wiped once again due to a computer malfunction.
After its successful launch into space on June 5, the capsule suffered more leaks when trying to dock with the station. Four of the 28 boosters also crashed before the Boeing capsule finally docked.
This test flight is one of the crucial last steps toward certification before Boeing can begin regularly flying people to and from the ISS. This mission follows years of failures and delays, including a failed uncrewing test in 2019 in which the spacecraft was unable to dock with the station.
This is the first inaugural mission launched by the US or a company with a woman on board. According to the NASA statement, the two astronauts completed a large batch of tests while aboard the ISS.
Boeing has been working on this project for more than a decade, and the capsule has already been seen as a competitor to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. However, SpaceX flew astronauts to the ISS for the first time in 2020 and has completed at least nine crewed missions since then.
NASA originally awarded SpaceX $2.6 billion and $4 billion to Boeing for their space programs.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
