Two NASA astronauts wait in space as tests of Boeing’s spaceship continue

Eight weeks after they launched, two NASA astronauts are still waiting aboard the space station as engineers try to address issues with Boeing's spaceship.

Their high-stakes mission was supposed to last about a week — but 56 days later, two NASA astronauts are still aboard the International Space Station, waiting as teams on the ground try to figure out how to bring them home safely in the Boeing spaceship they rode to orbit.

The beleaguered Starliner capsule has two problems: its propulsion system is leaking helium and five of its thrusters malfunctioned as it was docking with the space station. Mission managers were aware of the leaks before the vehicle lifted off but had said they were unlikely to affect the flight or the astronauts’ safety.

Over the weekend, NASA and Boeing engineers conducted a key test of the Starliner, which launched veteran astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on the vehicle’s first crewed flight on June 5.

The “hot fire test,” as it is known, was the second such test of the Starliner’s thrusters while it has been docked at the space station. It involved firing 27 of the capsule’s 28 jets for bursts of no longer than 1.2 seconds. Engineers on the ground evaluated the thrusters’ performance one at a time and also checked the status of the helium leaks.

In a blog post published Tuesday, NASA said preliminary results were encouraging, with all of the tested thrusters performing well.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-astronauts-wait-space-station-boeing-tests-rcna164276

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