Washington (AFP)
Boeing's new capsule, Starliner, will return to the United States on Sunday after failing to reach its main goal of joining the International Space Station (ISS), confirmed NASA and the aerospace giant on Saturday.
The capsule, which has only one manikin on board, is scheduled to land at 05:57 a.m. (12:57 p.m. GMT) on Sunday at White Sands, New Mexico, six days earlier than expected.
The capsule is currently in low orbit at an altitude of 250 km. Boeing engineers will program its thrusters to enter the atmosphere over the Pacific, then parachutes will slow the end of its descent. Large airbags will cushion the landing in the desert.
Starliner had launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Friday, but soon after it separated from the rocket, it did not ignite its propellants as planned and was therefore not placed in the correct orbit to catch up with the ISS, which flies around the Earth at about 400 km altitude.
Because it consumed too much fuel for several minutes of erroneous navigation, Boeing and NASA judged that it could no longer join the ISS and decided to bring Starliner back to Earth after 48 hours, without having realized the main objective of the mission.
In the aftermath of the incident, Boeing confirmed that the error was due to the fact that the capsule had recovered from the rocket's wrong time. "We started the clock at the wrong time," said Jim Chilton, vice president of space for Boeing, during a conference call.
The mission is not, however, a failure, insists the boss of NASA, Jim Bridenstine.
"The NASA and Boeing teams have worked hand in hand to achieve as many goals as possible," he said.
For example, Starliner was able to establish a line of communication with the ISS, Boeing was able to test in space the mooring mechanism, and the vehicle systems are working (thrusters, solar panels, batteries, cameras, temperature regulation inside...).
"The vehicle status is really excellent," said Jim Chilton.
It remains to successfully land, one of the most dangerous phases for any space mission, especially for a vehicle intended to transport astronauts. Starliner will enter the atmosphere at 25 times the speed of sound. The heat shield must resist and the three main parachutes deploy correctly.
During a test in November, only two parachutes were opened, which did not prevent the landing.
"The reentry, descent and landing phase is not for the faint of heart," says Jim Chilton.
NASA will then have to decide either to request another unmanned test, or to trust the vehicle to fly its astronauts. Starliner's first manned flight was scheduled for early 2020, with no specific date, a deadline expected since the end of the space shuttles in 2011.
Another vehicle, the Crew Dragon capsule, was developed by SpaceX for Nasa, and should be ready in the coming months.
© 2019 AFP