Starliner Crew Stuck On Space Station Without Confirmation Of Date

Starliner aircraft are still on the ISS (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA The manned flight test of the Starliner mission did not go well and far from NASA's expectations as well as Boeing. The reason is, this interika aircraft is experiencing some problems until it is trapped on the space station. The Starliner aircraft launched on June 5 and was supposed to settle in orbit for eight days. However, due to some technical problems, NASA Astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, had to stay longer on the space station without a confirmation date. Initially, Williams and Wilmore were targeted to return to Earth on June 18, but the date of this return underwent a change of up to two due to an unfinished technical fix. After setting down June 25, his return time was delayed. In a recent briefing, NASA and Boeing said that Starliner's plane and its flight crew could return home by the end of July. They managed to revive four of the five drivers who had died from helium leakage. Steve stragglerized, NASA's Commercial Kru Program Manager, explained that technicians were trying to mimic the conditions experienced by the aircraft driver to solve the problem. Unfortunately, the problems in the Starliner driving system were difficult to emulate. "The temperature we can achieve is not as we expected based on flight data," said Steve, quoted from Spacenews. Steve said that technicians used heating to find out the thermal conditions of the driving, but they failed.

Although the problem with the driving system cannot be solved yet, Steve said that they could repatriate Williams and Wilmore at this time. However, as the situation is not emergency, NASA and Boeing will wait until the ground test is complete. "We will work methodically through our process," Steve said. The ground tests carried out by these technicians will continue to be supported by NASA and Boeing until the Starliner plane gets the green light to take off from the International Space Station (ISS). To find a solution as soon as possible, technicians are working on dozens of ground tests according to a question by Vice President Boeing, Mark Nappi. He said that technicians were working on nearly 30 measures related to helium driving and leakage issues. Although testing was fruitless, the Starliner flight test mission had to be completed before mid-August. The aircraft had to vacate the ISS before Crew-9, a collaboration mission between NASA and SpaceX, landed at the space station.