Is Sunita Williams really stuck in space or is it her choice? NASA Starliner astronauts could return if… | Mint

Are NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore really “stuck” in space or is it their decision to stay in weightlessness longer than scheduled? Here is an in-depth discussion on two factors that could explain the idea behind Starliner astronauts’ longer stay in space.

1. Starliner could return ‘if absolutely necessary’

First, Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said earlier this month that “Starliner is ready to return in an emergency.” His statement comes at a time when NASA has said that Starliner can still return astronauts to Earth if absolutely necessary.

But under what circumstances would Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore be brought back from space? According to a Reuters report, the “extremely urgent” situation would arise if the Starliner capsule needs to be used to escape from the ISS in an emergency, or if one of Starliner’s perishable components – such as its solar panels – shows signs of failing ahead of schedule.

Wilmore said that on July 10, two astronauts tested the “safe haven procedure,” which involved taking shelter inside the Starliner in case they had to suddenly separate from the ISS. He said the test went well.

Meanwhile, Sunita Williams revealed that one of the checks carried out for the Starliner included performing a safe haven exercise “to make sure that we have all the emergency equipment ready and ready in case we have to enter the spacecraft and use it as a safe haven – in case something were to happen to the space station,” she said.

An official also explained how they would return to Earth if they did it today. On July 10, the official said that if they were to “undock today,” they would simply do a nominal undocking and return. He said the propulsion systems are highly redundant to one another. “So if there is a problem with one of the thrusters, the redundancy will take care of it and get us home safely,” he said.

2. Starliner is not NASA’s only option to bring astronauts back

In addition to Boeing’s Starliner, if a true emergency arises, NASA also has the option to quickly return both astronauts from space using a rival company’s spacecraft, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

Crew Dragon carried four astronauts to the station in March and is capable of accommodating more people in an emergency. But using Crew Dragon seems unlikely. SpaceX is Boeing’s competitor.

However, NASA’s focus is on getting Williams and Wilmore back to Earth safely, and the main option is to return on Boeing’s Starliner capsule.

On August 2, Boeing said in a statement that it was “confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely to orbit with the crew on board”.

Why, then, are Starliner astronauts staying in space longer?

Earlier this month, Wilmore said human spaceflight in any regime is not easy and every spacecraft designed so far has had numerous problems, and “that’s the nature of what we do”.

“The mantra He said, “You may have heard that failure is not an option, so that’s why we’re staying here now.”

About their long stay in space, Wilmore said the crew encountered degradation in the thrusters. “And that’s why we’re staying there because we’re going to test it… we’re going to get the data we need to help inform our decision so we can make the right decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sunita Williams explained why studies on the Starliner were important. She said the service module (SM), where the thrusters are located, would separate from the capsule and burn up in the atmosphere. This would mean the end of the ability to study how they react in space.

“We’ve had a lot of practice, and I’m very hopeful that the spacecraft will get us back home… We’re now learning to adapt to our specific situation to make sure we know everything about it.” [the spacecraft]…, Sunita Williams said in her first interaction with the media after the Starliner launch on July 10.

NASA had previously rescheduled the planned return three times, and has now not set a date for it. According to a Reuters report, Starliner can remain docked to the ISS for up to 72 days, relying on various backup systems.

Why Starliner’s return was delayed: ‘Helium leak, thruster anomalies’

Starliner, which was scheduled to return in mid-June, has now been in space for more than 50 days as the crew worked to make some mid-mission improvements.

Teams in space and on Earth are conducting thruster testing and working on a return flight readiness review to prepare for Starliner’s final undocking and landing.

Starliner launched on June 5 on a Crew Flight Test (CFT), carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) for a planned one-week stay. The spacecraft arrived at the ISS on June 6.

During the trip, Starliner suffered helium leaks and thruster anomalies – which delayed the spacecraft’s return. The capsule suffered five helium leaks, five maneuvering thrusters shut down and one propellant valve failed to close completely.

Starliner’s propulsion system is part of the spacecraft’s “service module.” Rutgers said the problems centered on this system, which is needed to propel the capsule away from the ISS and dive into Earth’s atmosphere.

According to Stich, several of Starliner’s thrusters overheated when fired, and the leak of helium used to pressurize the thrusters appeared to be related to the frequency of their use.

What is the situation now? ’27 out of 28 thrusters are healthy, helium level is stable’

Boeing said on Saturday that tests had been conducted and they confirmed that “27 of the 28 RCS [reaction control system] The thrusters are healthy and back to full operational capability.

“Starliner’s propulsion system also maintained redundancy and helium levels remained stable. The data also supports the root cause assessment of the helium and thruster issues and the flight justification for the return of Starliner and its crew to Earth,” Boeing reported.

On August 1, NASA reported that teams were taking time to analyze the results of a recent docked hot-fire test, finalize flight justification for the spacecraft’s integrated propulsion system, and confirm system reliability before Starliner returns to Earth from the International Space Station.

What happens if Starliner thrusters malfunction on return mission?

It is important that the thrusters perform nominally, and only then will Starliner be able to undock and return safely. NASA and Starliner want to be completely confident before embarking on the return trip and hope that “nothing else surprises them” during the trip.

So what if the thrusters were damaged? What would NASA do differently in that case? Mark Nappi, who leads Starliner efforts at Boeing, said he doesn’t think their thrusters are damaged. But they want to “fill in the blanks and test” to make sure everything is okay.

Adding to Nappi’s answer, Steve Stich said that there was only one thruster that was producing very little thrust “which we will be deactivating for the rest of the flight, and that will be the plan for undocking right now. That will be the B1 A3 thruster. We will not have that thruster available and with the OMAC system for the de-burn, it should be nominal…”

However, both officials said they had full confidence in the thrusters.

Thrusters are needed to position the Starliner spacecraft for reentry and also to slow the capsule to the proper speed before the service module separates. Only after this phase does the capsule take off for the final time. Briefly, the mission was delayed because at least one of the 28 thrusters malfunctioned.

NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore made history by becoming the first people to fly on the Starliner spacecraft.