{"id":17195,"date":"2024-06-06T18:38:57","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T10:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/boeings-starliner-craft-docks-with-space-station-after-dealing-with-balky-thrusters\/"},"modified":"2024-06-06T18:38:57","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T10:38:57","slug":"boeings-starliner-craft-docks-with-space-station-after-dealing-with-balky-thrusters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/boeings-starliner-craft-docks-with-space-station-after-dealing-with-balky-thrusters\/","title":{"rendered":"Boeing\u2019s Starliner craft docks with space station after dealing with balky thrusters"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240606-starliner6-630x354.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-826286\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240606-starliner6-630x354.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240606-starliner6-1260x709.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240606-starliner6-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240606-starliner6-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/240606-starliner6.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"wp-element-caption\">A view from the International Space Station shows Boeing\u2019s Starliner spacecraft approaching for docking. (NASA via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Boeing\u2019s Starliner capsule and its two-person NASA crew arrived at the International Space Station today after mission managers coped with some post-launch glitches involving the spacecraft\u2019s propulsion system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s docking, I think, was challenging,\u201d Steve Stich, program manager for NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program, told reporters after Starliner\u2019s arrival. \u201cWe had a few things we had to work through as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the glitches had to do with the thrusters that are used to maneuver the gumdrop-shaped capsule in orbit. Five of the 28 thrusters initially malfunctioned \u2014 which forced NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to put their final approach to the station on hold for more than an hour.<\/p>\n<p>Four of the balky thrusters were successfully reactivated, clearing the way for the docking procedure to resume.<\/p>\n<p>Other glitches cropped up in Starliner\u2019s helium pressurization system: Even before Wednesday\u2019s milestone launch \u2014 which set the first crewed Starliner flight in motion \u2014 engineers at NASA and Boeing knew there was a helium leak in the propulsion system and decided to live with it. But after launch, three more leaks were detected.<\/p>\n<p>The mission team determined that there would still be enough reserves to carry on safely. \u201cJust at the top level, we should have absolutely plenty of margin,\u201d Stich said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA\u2019s Boeing Crew Flight Test Docking Day Highlights - June 6, 2024\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z5mCIrhXS9o?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Wilmore and Williams have both been to the station twice before, but this was the first time anyone ever arrived on a Starliner capsule.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNice to be attached to the big city in the sky,\u201d Wilmore said when docking was complete. \u201cWe\u2019re looking forward to staying here for a couple of weeks, and getting all the things done on Starliner that we need to get done \u2014 and also on station.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After all the leak checks, Starliner\u2019s spacefliers floated through the hatch to meet up with the space station\u2019s crew and exchange a round of enthusiastic hugs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are very happy,\u201d Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, the station\u2019s current commander, told the new arrivals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are thrilled as well,\u201d replied Wilmore, the Starliner test mission\u2019s commander. \u201cWe\u2019re ready to go to work for the international partners here. Whatever it is you\u2019ve got for us to do, we\u2019re ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During their orbital stay, Wilmore and Williams will help out with the delivery of about 800 pounds of cargo, including a replacement pump for the station\u2019s urine-recycling system. They\u2019ll also continue checkouts of Starliner\u2019s systems. The earliest scheduled date for their return to Earth is June 14. (<strong>Update:<\/strong> NASA is extending Starliner\u2019s stay at the space station to provide more time for troubleshooting the thruster malfunctions and the helium leaks.)<\/p>\n<p>After the mission\u2019s end, NASA and Boeing will assess issues of concern \u2014 no doubt including the propulsion system glitches \u2014 and determine what else needs to be done to certify Starliner for regular crewed trips to the space station.<\/p>\n<p>Boeing has already encountered years of delays and roughly $1.5 billion in cost overruns due to technical setbacks in the Starliner program. SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon was certified to carry astronauts back in 2020 and has become NASA\u2019s mainstay for crew transportation, but NASA says it\u2019s important to have more than one commercial provider. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A view from the International Space Station shows Boeing\u2019s Starliner spacecraft approaching for docking. (NASA via YouTube) Boeing\u2019s Starliner capsule and its two-person NASA crew arrived at the International Space Station today after mission managers coped with some post-launch glitches involving the spacecraft\u2019s propulsion system. \u201cToday\u2019s docking, I think, was challenging,\u201d Steve Stich, program manager [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[670,717,190,1306],"class_list":["post-17195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-boeing","tag-international-space-station","tag-nasa","tag-starliner"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17195"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}