(NewsNation) — NASA announced another delay in returning Boeing’s Starliner capsule to Earth as the capsule’s first crewed test flight has experienced multiple issues.
Five helium leaks have been discovered in Starliner’s service module, and astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had problems with the capsule’s thrusters when docking with the International Space Station.
While all of this may seem alarming, former NASA astronaut Terry Virts told NewsNation it’s par for the course.
“This is the first human mission with this vehicle, and there’s always issues no matter what the spaceship; you know, they’re gonna have problems happen,” he said.
The helium in the service module powers propulsion to bring the capsule home, but NASA reports there is still more than enough gas to get the astronauts back to Earth. NASA will want to troubleshoot as much as possible before the Starliner comes home.
“That actually comes back and burns up in the atmosphere. So they won’t get that back, they won’t be able to analyze exactly what’s going on,” he said. “So they want to take the time that they can now to make sure they understand it, because once they undock and come back to Earth, those valves and those jets are gone forever.”
If more problems were discovered, there are still other options to return the crew home on a different craft. In the meantime, Wilmore and Williams will have more time to conduct research on the ISS.
Virts said Starliner still has one more challenge to face as it returns home. The capsule is set to make a ground landing instead of a splashdown in the ocean.
“A lot of countries have launched things in space,” Virts said. “But bringing people and cargo back to Earth is only been done by a few countries. So I think the return is a much bigger deal.”