On June 5th, 2024, one of NASA’s Boeing Starliner capsules was launched into space for an 8-day mission to the International Space Station. On board were two NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry Willmore. Williams is a helicopter pilot by trade, and Willmore is a fighter pilot. Both astronauts have also served in the U.S. Navy. One of the main objectives of this mission was to evaluate the capabilities of the Boeing Starliner capsules before NASA allowed them for regular International Space Station astronaut rotation missions. The navigation, docking, and life support capabilities were the primary features being evaluated.
Shortly after liftoff, the Boeing Starliner Capsule suffered many reaction control thruster system failures and helium leaks. As a result, Williams and Willmore had to temporarily take control of the Starliner to make a fully automated docking at the space station.
Afterward, NASA and Boeing decided it was better to extend the flight to perform multiple tests and to gather more information. What was to be an 8-day mission turned into a nine month stay at the International Space Station. As time passed, research was conducted in space and on Earth to further evaluate the issues.
At White Sands in New Mexico, a Starline thruster was being tested to judge its performance so that researchers would be able to understand possible causes of the thruster failures in orbit. After a while, the helium leaks finally began to slowly stabilize. However, this was not enough, as NASA decided to return Starliner to Earth empty and keep the astronauts on the International Space Station until February. This decision was made because there was still too much uncertainty regarding how the thrusters would work. Instead, Willmore and Williams have been rescued and brought back to Earth by SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom.