NASA on Thursday said that it would decide this weekend whether Boeing’s new capsule is safe enough to return two astronauts from the International Space Station, where they have been waiting since June.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other top officials are to meet today. An announcement is expected from Houston once the meeting ends.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner-1 on June 5. The test flight quickly encountered thruster failures and helium leaks so serious that NASA kept the capsule parked at the station as engineers debated what to do.
Photo: Reuters
SpaceX could retrieve the astronauts, but that would keep them up there until February next year. They were supposed to return after about a week at the station.
If NASA decides SpaceX is the way to go, Starliner would return to Earth empty next month.
Engineers are evaluating a new computer model for the Starliner thrusters and how they might perform as the capsule descends out of orbit for a touchdown in the US’ western deserts.
The results, including updated risk analyses, would factor into the final decision, NASA said.
Boeing earlier this month said that extensive testing of thrusters in space and on the ground demonstrated Starliner’s ability to safely return the astronauts.
It was the company’s first astronaut flight, delayed for years by a multitude of capsule problems. Two previous Starliner test flights had no one on board.
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