Starliner delay to ISS indicates serious problem, scientist says

MOSCOW, July 21 The long delay of the Starliner spacecraft at the ISS suggests that There were serious problems with the hardware, for which astronauts need to go into outer space, but it is unlikely that such a complex operation will be possible, said Nathan Eismont, a leading researcher at the Space Research Institute (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Earlier, NASA and Boeing reported that they were considering mid-August as the latest possible date for the return to Earth of the Starliner spacecraft, which was stuck in orbit due to technical problems. According to media reports, it recorded problems with some of the shunting engines and helium leaks.
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The expert noted that the ship most likely had serious problems with the control system — either with the software or with the hardware — the hardware that includes all the technical means of the ship.

«Judging by how long they've been sitting there, you can suspect that it's the hardware… If there are problems with the hardware, then the situation is much more complicated. Replacing the hardware is a whole special operation… It would probably be necessary to go into outer space. That's the last thing we'd want,» Eismont said.
The expert recalled that similar operations in space have already been carried out. In 2009, a team of astronauts carried out five successful spacewalks in 10 days to install new instruments on the Hubble orbital telescope, extending its service life.
“If we talk about operations in outer space on the ISS, then it was initially envisaged that some operations would be carried out there, but on the Starliner itself, obviously, this was hardly intended. It seems to me that this limitation still closes the possibility without any “It’s really unusual to do something with the hardware in space,” the scientist said.
The spacecraft, created by Boeing under a contract with NASA, set off on its first manned flight on June 5, 2024, after about 26 hours, it arrived at the ISS. , and, despite technical problems, successfully docked with it. Initially, it was planned that the Starliner mission at the station would last about a week, but NASA extended the mission of astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams several times. At the moment, the exact date of their return to Earth has not been determined.