Two astronauts who have been trapped in space for weeks longer than expected are confident that Boeing will get them back to Earth safely, despite a series of problems facing the company’s troubled space capsule.
NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams expressed optimism about the current predicament that began when the new Starliner spacecraft launched into space last month was found to be leaking helium and having a thruster failure.
“We have a really good feeling that the spacecraft is going to get us home safely,” Williams said Wednesday at the pair’s first press conference from the spacecraft’s orbit.
Wilmore added that he was “absolutely confident” that he and his colleagues would return safely after thruster tests on Earth were completed.
Williams and Wilmore were among the first people on board the Starliner when it departed in early June, but the issues mean they won’t be able to return home until late July.
The test flight was scheduled to last a total of eight days in space, before returning to Earth on June 14.
The pair stressed that they enjoyed their extra time in orbit and helping the space station’s crew of seven other astronauts.
“Again, this is a test flight. We expected to find some issues, so we found some issues and we’re making fixes and changes and updates,” Williams said.
NASA and Boeing are working at a missile range in New Mexico this week to replicate Starliner’s thruster problems with new units that they hope will prove key to returning home.
Five thrusters failed as the capsule approached the space station on June 6, the day after launch. Four of the five have been restarted so far, and Wilmore said there should be enough thrusters working to get the capsule home.
“As you’ve heard, failure is not an option, and that’s why we’re still here,” Wilmore said.
“We believe the tests we are doing are the tests we need to get the right answers and the data we need to resume our research.”
Boeing Vice President Mark Nappi maintained that Starliner would be ready to carry crew members if an emergency occurred, saying the company doesn’t believe the thrusters are damaged but “we want to fill in the blanks and do this test to be sure of that.”
Officials said despite the leak, there was enough helium left for the journey home.
Boeing had previously denied that the two astronauts were “stranded” in space, despite unexpected problems surrounding the mission.
The company’s commercial jets have also faced a number of problems in recent months, including an incident earlier this year when a door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX-9 plane blew off in flight.
Boeing is also expected to plead guilty to fraud charges related to two fatal crashes of its jetliners in 2018 and 2019.
With post wire
