Leaks, malfunctions delay astronauts’ return from ISS again

(NewsNation) — Helium leaks and thruster malfunctions have again combined to keep two Boeing Starliner astronauts aboard the International Space Station for a few more days. But exactly how many more days remains a mystery.

NASA delayed the return of Starliner’s Calypso capsule for a third time Sunday and said the next possible return date, this Wednesday, won’t happen. NASA and Boeing now face a 45-day window to bring the astronauts back.

Commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams were scheduled to come home on June 13th after spending just a week at ISS. But trouble arose as the Calypso capsule made the 25-hour trip from liftoff to the space station.

That’s when five of the craft’s 28 thrusters failed and five helium leaks were detected. Space expert Jonathan McDowell told The New York Post the situation may not seem as perilous as some believe.

“You can lose a few thrusters and still be OK because there are many of them but still this is the propulsion system and you want to understand everything that’`’s going on,” he said. “They want to be sure these smaller issues aren’t masking bigger ones.”

“We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, in a Boeing mission 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,” he said.

The indefinite delay also removes a possible distraction for the ISS crew, which is preparing for spacewalks on Monday and again a week later.

Stich also told reporters last week that Calypso “remains cleared for return in case of an emergency on the space station that required the crew to leave orbit and come back to Earth.”