The two astronauts on board Boeing's Starliner spacecraft are facing uncertainty as their mission, which was expected to be short, has now extended beyond three weeks without a clear end in sight.

NASA Astronauts to Extend Space Station Stay

Officials have consistently assured that the Starliner, despite facing challenges like helium leaks and thruster outages during its journey to the International Space Station in early June, will ensure the safe return of astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

However, Steve Stich, the manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, announced on Friday that there are discussions underway to potentially increase the duration of Starliner's mission from 45 days to 90 days. And there is currently no set date for when things will return to normal, according to CNN.

During Starliner's approach to the space station, unexpected thruster failures nearly caused a disruption in the docking process. During the docking process, five out of the capsule's 28 thrusters experienced a temporary malfunction. Fortunately, all but one of the affected thrusters were successfully restarted.

During its journey into orbit, Starliner experienced a small helium leak initially, followed by the emergence of several additional leaks. Helium is commonly used to pressurize fuel for the thrusters. According to Boeing, the two issues are not a cause for concern regarding the return trip.

NASA and Boeing have announced a delay in the return of the astronauts, citing the need for additional time to gather information regarding the thruster trouble and leaks that occurred while the capsule was docked.

Both are located in the service module, a component that is attached to the capsule and is designed to burn up during reentry.

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Starliner Mission 

NASA initially stated that the Starliner had the potential to remain docked at the space station for a maximum of 45 days, citing battery constraints. According to Stich, in-flight tests have demonstrated the possibility of extending that limit.

Officials have stated that they will not establish a specific date for the return, as they are currently conducting ground tests of the capsule thrusters in the New Mexico desert.

These tests were initially anticipated to take a few weeks. They are interested in attempting to recreate the circumstances that occurred during the docking.

According to Stich, in the event of a space station emergency, the astronauts have the option to return to Earth using Starliner.

Following the retirement of the space shuttle fleet, NASA decided to entrust astronaut rides to private companies. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has completed a total of nine taxi flights for NASA since 2020. NASA intends to rotate between SpaceX and Boeing for transporting crews to and from the space station, AP News reported.

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