by Boeing and NASA’s Starliner capsule has exceeded the 45-day window to remain docked with the International Space Station. The capsule was originally authorized to stay at the ISS for up to 45 days, but with no date set for the astronauts’ return, the stay was extended indefinitely, and NASA and Boeing say the batteries are working well aboard the capsule. The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on June 6. Monday marked 46 days since they arrived there. After the mission was approved, NASA and Boeing said the batteries were working properly and the capsule could safely remain at the ISS beyond that window. “Would they want this to be behind them, I’m absolutely sure they would.” »But I want to share with you, I haven’t heard from anyone who’s overly concerned if it takes another week or 10 days or more,” said Ray Lugo, a space expert who is CEO of the Center for Advancement of Science in Space Inc. . WATCH: Boeing’s Starliner finally launches historic crewed mission on third attempt The Starliner has been plagued by problems, including two prelaunch cleaning attempts and helium leaks aboard the spacecraft. Here on Earth, Boeing and NASA engineers have been testing the thrusters to get a sense of what went wrong during the flight to the ISS. They said if needed, the astronauts could return home safely at any time. NASA and Boeing have said they hope to bring the astronauts home in the coming weeks. So far, we haven’t received a date and there’s no indication they plan to use another spacecraft to bring them home. For now, they are confident they will be able to bring Wilmore and Williams home aboard the Starliner.
Boeing and NASA’s Starliner mission has passed its 45-day battery window after docking with the International Space Station.
The capsule was originally approved to stay aboard the ISS for up to 45 days, but with no date set for the astronauts’ return, the stay was extended indefinitely, and NASA and Boeing say the batteries are working well aboard the capsule.
The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on June 6. As of Monday, it had been there for 46 days.
Related: Boeing’s Starliner return to Earth delayed indefinitely, no date set
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are the two astronauts on board and they expressed confidence in early July that, despite the delay, they will return home safely.
“I’m confident that if we had to do it, if there was a problem with the International Space Station, we could get on our spacecraft, undock, talk to our team and figure out the best way to get home,” Williams said at a news conference Wednesday.
Although Sunday marks the end of the 45-day window for which the mission was approved, NASA and Boeing have said the batteries are working and the capsule can safely remain at the ISS beyond that window.
“Whether they would like to have this behind them, I’m absolutely sure they would. But I want to tell you that I haven’t heard anyone overly concerned if it takes another week or 10 days,” said Ray Lugo, a space expert who is CEO of the Center for Advancement of Science in Space Inc.
VIDEO: Boeing’s Starliner finally launches historic crewed mission on third attempt
Starliner has been plagued by numerous problems, including two pre-launch cleaning attempts and helium leaks aboard the spacecraft.
Here on Earth, Boeing and NASA engineers have been testing the thrusters to get a sense of what happened during the flight to the ISS.
They said that if needed, the astronauts could return home safely at any time.
NASA and Boeing have said they hope to return the astronauts to Earth in the coming weeks. So far, no date has been announced and there is no indication they plan to use another spacecraft to bring them back to Earth.
For now, they are confident they will be able to get Wilmore and Williams home aboard the Starliner.
