11 months ago
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(NewsNation) — NASA and Boeing are scheduled to supply an update Thursday connected the 2 Boeing Starliner astronauts who are connected the 49th day of what was expected to beryllium 8 days successful orbit astatine the International Space Station.
On Thursday, enactment from some companies volition enactment successful a league telephone to supply updates connected the Boeing Crew Flight Test ngo aft precocious completed crushed blistery occurrence investigating of Starliner's faulty power strategy thrusters, according to a property release.
NASA volition watercourse the update astatine 11:30 a.m. ET connected this page.
Starliner ngo failures
The Starliner capsule has been docked astatine the International Space Station since June 6. It should person returned with its NASA trial pilots by mid-June, but thruster failures and helium leaks prompted NASA and Boeing to widen its stay.
Boeing had antecedently said that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams could usage the Starliner to instrumentality to Earth instantly if the concern demands it, but that’s not the case. Both Wilmore and Williams said they were assured they'd instrumentality location safely contempt the delay.
NASA and Boeing said the capsule’s batteries are performing good contempt the extended stay.
“I consciousness assured that if we had to, if determination was a occupation with the International Space Station, we could get successful our spacecraft, and we could undock, speech to our team, and fig retired the champion mode to travel home,” Williams said successful a property league past week.
Safe to enactment astatine ISS: NASA
Although Sunday was the extremity of the 45-day enactment the ngo was approved for, NASA and Boeing reassured the nationalist and astronauts it was harmless to enactment successful the capsule astatine the ISS past the mission’s archetypal window.
Starliner was plagued with issues earlier it adjacent launched. The spacecraft’s launch was scrubbed twice, including 1 close earlier liftoff. Helium leaks were besides reported.
Both agencies did not bespeak erstwhile the astronauts volition instrumentality to Earth but are hopeful for a instrumentality successful the coming weeks. There besides has been nary connection connected whether the agencies program to usage different spacecraft to get the astronauts home.
NewsNation affiliate WFLA contributed to this report.
