NASA decided to make sure that the ship was ready to go back
The return to Earth of the Boeing Starliner manned spacecraft has been postponed again. Now NASA has decided that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will leave the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than June 26th. Let us remember that the ship, which initially arrived at the ISS on June 5, was supposed to stay at the station for about a week. But then the undocking was postponed until June 18, then until June 22, and now we are talking about June 26 with the possibility of further extension of the mission.
According to NASA, the goal of keeping the Boeing Starliner in orbit longer — give the team more time to study the data received, conduct analysis and make sure everything is ready for the return. It was previously reported that the crew will conduct a number of additional tests and study the ship in real space conditions. This will help plan its future six-month docking with the ISS. This time the ship can remain docked at the station for a maximum of 45 days.
The Boeing Starliner's return to Earth is expected to take about six hours. As a result, the ship must land in the desert of Utah, New Mexico or other backup points depending on weather conditions. This Boeing Starliner mission was the first manned mission: the first time astronauts boarded, the launch was postponed many times. Before this, the ship performed unmanned flights twice.