Astronauts left stranded in space as glitches force NASA to cancel scheduled return

On June 5, 2024, two NASA scientists, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida in the first-ever crewed mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The astronauts were intended to implement certain system tests on the flight so that the Starliner could be certified for rotational missions to the space station, as per NASA. However, during the 25-hour flight, the engineers discovered some helium leaks and thruster issues in the craft, causing Nasa to cancel their scheduled return to Earth, Boeing reports. The duo, stranded in space, were expected to return by June 14.

The two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are currently dwelling inside the Starliner space capsule, grappling with the uncertainty of the day when they’ll be able to re-enter Earth. "We've learned that our helium system is not performing as designed," Mark Nappi, Boeing's Starliner program manager, said at a news conference, per Live Science, adding, "Albeit manageable, it's still not working as we designed it. So we've got to go figure that out."

The space capsule is docked to the ISS’s Harmony module. Meanwhile, the engineers of NASA and Boeing are scrutinizing the hardware errors in the space vessel, including five helium leaks, and five thruster issues in its reaction control system. “We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in the update. “We are letting the data drive our decision-making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking."

At the same time, the engineers report there is plenty of helium supply in the craft for the crew to return comfortably. "Engineers evaluated the helium supply based on current leak rates and determined that Starliner has plenty of margins to support the return trip from the station," NASA officials wrote in an update. "Only seven hours of free-flight time is needed to perform a normal end-of-mission, and Starliner currently has enough helium left in its tanks to support 70 hours of free flight activity following undocking," they added.

They are making the best use of the extra time that the astronauts and engineers have because once the capsule returns to Earth, its service module will be discarded and burned. Thereupon, engineers won’t be able to inspect the prevailing errors. So, while the craft lingers in the space, they want to carry out as much investigation as possible, so as not to repeat the errors in future missions. For Wilmore and Williams, officials have reported that they are safe and can be evacuated in the event of an emergency. But until then, they want to make a detailed assessment of the spacecraft before the astronauts return to Earth.