Starliner's flight was far wilder than most of us thought

[Fugu]

Interesting read, to say the least.

Starliner’s flight to the space station was far wilder than most of us thought

Eric Berger

25 - 32 minutes

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"Hey, this is a very precarious situation we're in."

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore receives a warm welcome at Johnson Space Center's Ellington Field in Houston from NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Woody Hoburg after completing a long-duration science mission aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

 

As it flew up toward the International Space Station last summer, the Starliner spacecraft lost four thrusters. A NASA astronaut, Butch Wilmore, had to take manual control of the vehicle. But as Starliner's thrusters failed, Wilmore lost the ability to move the spacecraft in the direction he wanted to go.

He and his fellow astronaut, Suni Williams, knew where they wanted to go. Starliner had flown to within a stone's throw of the space station, a safe harbor, if only they could reach it. But already, the failure of so many thrusters violated the mission's flight rules. In such an instance, they were supposed to turn around and come back to Earth. Approaching the station was deemed too risky for Wilmore and Williams, aboard Starliner, as well as for the astronauts on the $100 billion space station.

Continued

[JohnS]

Thanks for sharing, @Fugu. When things go wrong in space, it's always precarious! I'm glad they're both back alive.