Astronauts of the Boeing Starliner shuttle will stay on the space station longer than planned - until June 18. This was reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.
Details
NASA and Boeing have announced that they expect to return the Starliner and its first crew of astronauts to Earth from the International Space Station later than planned. Two shuttle astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will remain on the space station until June 18.
The reason is that more time is needed to test the shuttle's systems, which will allow Expedition 71 members to prepare more calmly for the next spacewalk.
The astronauts are currently performing various tasks necessary to collect data to certify Starliner as a shuttle suitable for human transportation. In particular, they need to assess the ability of the Starliner to switch on and off the minimum power mode, which it will switch to during operational missions while the crew is working on board.
In addition, Dina Contella, NASA's deputy program manager for the ISS, told reporters that NASA had discovered a new problem on the Starliner while it remained docked to the station - a “sticky” oxidizer valve.
A NASA blog post published on Monday mentions an additional helium leak in the Starliner's propulsion system, in addition to the four already discovered during a 24-hour flight to the space station last week.
Recall
Boeing and NASA earlier said their teams are preparing to launch the new Starliner space capsule after the first test flight attempt was canceled .