According to the NASA US space agency, Sunita Williams and eight others are safe on board the International Space Station and they are “kept in good spirits.” An Indian-American astronaut has been up there for fifty days now with no fixed date or way when she will make landfall again. The United States space agency is confirming that she, as well as other astronauts aboard the International Space Station, are all secure and in a “good mood.”
A funny Indian space expert likened it to being in “Trishanku,” a state of ambiguous but deliberate stuck between rock and hard place.
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NASA Boeing Starliner
Today’s updates from NASA make them closer to identifying why such systems on Boeing Starliner (eg the failed thrusters) didn’t work properly during its first test flight resulting in helium leaks. However, there was uncertainty over: a return date; whether Astronaut Sunita Williams together with her crewmate Butch Wilmore would do it through the same Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
An Indian-American astronaut has been up there for fifty days now with no fixed date or way when she will make landfall again. The United States space agency is confirming that she, as well as other astronauts aboard the International Space Station, are all secure and in a “good mood.”
A humorous Indian space expert compared her predicament to being stuck between rock and hard place in an indeterminate voluntary state called Trishanku.
More updates were released by them today which shows that they are getting closer to finding out why some systems on Boeing Starliner failed such as thrusters including helium leaks that occurred during its maiden flight. Despite this, questions still remain concerning: when will they come back? Will Astronaut Sunita Williams alongside his crew mate Butch Wilmore return via the same Boeing Starliner craft?
Ninety days is maximum time that Boeing says its batteries can last on the Starliner after it’s docked with the space station. As a result, American space scientists have about forty days to decide whether they should use SpaceX Crew Dragon or Russian Soyuz spacecraft for bringing back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in damaged Boeing Starliner. No one is actually stuck out there in space; neither Sunita Williams nor any of the other eight astronauts because both of these backup vehicles are already moored at the space station.
“Since Butch and Sunita have each done long duration missions before, so they have been having fun,” noted NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich during Expedition 71. He added that even though there are contingency plans in place, currently the focus was on returning Butch and Sunita to Earth by Boeing Starliner.
NASA Boeing Starliner Vice President and Program Manager Mark Nappi boldly said, “I am highly confident that we have a good vehicle [in Boeing Starliner] to bring the crew back with.”
There are many barriers encountered by Boeing during the development of the Starliner. The initial contract was for $4.2 billion but as at now it stands at over $5.7 billion not yet achieved. NASA was developing Boeing Starliner in order to have a backup plan in case SpaceX’s Crew Dragon proved too powerful. Also, Boeing’s aerospace and aircraft divisions are struggling. Some time ago when he was before Congress, Senators questioned David Calhoun, CEO of Boeing regarding their safety culture and transparency. The failure of these two astronauts aboard the Boeing Starliner to return back to Earth would be a big loss for this industry leader in aviation and space technology.
NASA Reaction Control System (RCS)
NASA noted that “The Starliner team is reviewing data that will aid in future missions and pave the way for their astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to return to Earth.” Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster has completed ground testing while disassemblies as well as inspections have been finished. After next week’s Flight Test Readiness Review, a date for landing the Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) will be set and landing opportunities throughout August may occur. Significant results from RCS thruster test were obtained at New Mexico’s White Sands test facility of them which help in root cause analysis and finalising flight plan supporting nominal undock and land.
While safely attached to the space station this weekend, there will be 27 hot-fire tests of the 28 RCS thrusters on the star liner crew. It is like what will happen on subsequent flights; this test is aimed at confirming thruster performance. Furthermore, crew looks into more helium leak information that has remained unchanged since spacecraft arrived at station June 6th . There is no helium leak in that setup because the helium system has been closed for the majority of the time the ship is docked.
Moreover, according to a statement from Boeing, NASA and Boeing will do a second docked hot-fire test to demonstrate thruster capabilities of the spacecraft. The first docked hot-fire test occurred on June 15. The subsequent one will check if these thrusters are functioning as predicted and offer room for leak checks as regards helium. However, it is worth mentioning that space community had expected some hiccups on this first test flight but it is very worrying that a ten-day mission has lasted over five times longer with no end in sight
