CCTV News: On the 27th, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States announced that it will continue to work with Boeing to study the problems that may arise in the propulsion system of the Boeing interstellar aircraft spacecraft. On the afternoon of the 28th Eastern Time, they will also hold a press conference on the latest situation of the interstellar aircraft. Due to technical issues, the return journey of the Boeing spacecraft carrying two astronauts from the International Space Station to Earth has been repeatedly delayed, and the final return date of the spacecraft has not been determined.
The Boeing Interstellar spacecraft took off on the 5th of this month with two American astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunny Williams on its first manned test flight, as the final step in obtaining certification from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for conventional commercial space missions. The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on the 6th.
However, the good times did not last long. The spacecraft was originally planned to leave the International Space Station and return to Earth on the 14th, but later encountered problems such as thruster malfunctions, resulting in several delays in the return time. There is currently no exact date. According to Reuters, citing anonymous sources, the next expected return time for the spacecraft is July 6th, which means the originally scheduled eight day mission will last for a month.
It is understood that the interstellar aircraft has conducted two unmanned test flights since 2019. During this manned test mission, there were 5 thruster failures, 5 helium leaks, and 1 poor operation of the propellant control valve. NASA and Boeing had to conduct more tests to confirm that the issue was resolved.
The Washington Post bluntly stated on the 25th that the delay in return due to technical issues, as well as whether Boeing can overcome these issues, not only reflects the high risk of the future of the Starplane program, but also the high risk of Boeing entering space. Boeing urgently needs to prove that it can enable astronauts to fly safely and overcome various technological challenges for spacecraft and the company's commercial aviation sector.
On June 28th local time, CCTV reporters learned that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States stated that the two astronauts will stay in space for a longer period of time to continue troubleshooting the Boeing interstellar spacecraft.
According to Red Star News, the original scheduled mission time for the manned test flight of the interstellar aircraft was 8 days. However, due to some thrusters malfunctioning and helium leakage issues in the propulsion system, the return date of the two astronauts was initially postponed to June 26th. After the NASA executive meeting, the return date was adjusted to July.
The report pointed out that before the launch, engineers had detected a helium leak in the interstellar aircraft, but believed that the leak was very small and would not affect the launch. It is reported that the main function of helium is to push the propellant into the propulsion system. However, after launch, the interstellar aircraft experienced four more helium leaks. In addition, 5 of its 28 thrusters stopped operating when approaching the space station, and 4 of them restarted.
"If everything had to be prepared perfectly before the test flight, the time and cost would be very high." Adam Beck, the head of a British aerospace company, understood that NASA and Boeing had launched the "interstellar airliner" even after discovering helium leaks. "I think they didn't fully consider the worst-case scenario."
American space science expert Simeon Barber believes that the focus of this manned test flight should be to test the astronaut's mastery of the aircraft. "But we are still dealing with the most fundamental issues, NASA needs to reflect on why these issues were not resolved after the first two test flights."
Barber believes that for NASA, what needs to be determined now is the root cause of helium leaks and thruster malfunctions. NASA stated that engineers hope to conduct research on the spacecraft before it re-enters the atmosphere to identify the cause of the malfunction. However, analysis suggests that during the process of returning to the atmosphere, some components of the spacecraft will be burned down, potentially losing critical data.
"Astronauts are not trapped, and we guarantee that if there is an abnormal situation on the International Space Station, astronauts can return to Earth." NASA emphasized that helium leaks will not pose a risk to astronauts. Adam Baker said that taking a step back ten thousand, these two astronauts could return to Earth on the SpaceX spacecraft, but this could be very embarrassing for Boeing.