Intro The Starliner crew was only supposed
to be on the ISS for 8 days, but as of today they have been
there for already 80 days and NASA's recent decision means they will
be stuck there for at least 8 months. So what went wrong with Boeing's Starliner and what are the next steps for
the astronauts and Boeing? What happened? It all went wrong even before the launch, as
one small leak was discovered in the Starliner's propulsion system. However, it was decided that it
wasn't a safety risk and the launch took place on June 5th. But as Starliner approached the ISS,
four new leaks were discovered. Additionally, a separate problem arose: five out
of 28 thrusters malfunctioned. These thrusters are super important, as they keep the
spacecraft in the correct position, particularly during docking and undocking. Eventually,
four out of five thrusters were restored, and the spacecraft successfully docked
with the ISS with a one-hour-long delay. This prompted NASA to launch
an investigation to find out what went wrong, and in the meantime, the
astronauts' return was postponed indefinitely. The test results weren't so positive for Boeing.
The engineers found out that although all but one of the 28 thrusters performed well,
the tests showed that a tiny Teflon seal seemed to swell under high temperatures,
blocking propellant flow into thrusters. The concern is that the astronauts won't be able
to make a course correction in time during the descent from orbit. In addition, it's unclear
how the leaks will behave during the return. All this time, Boeing was insisting that Starliner
could return the crew safely back to Earth, but NASA was skeptical. Once the results
came out, it made it clear to NASA that the crew shouldn't return on Starliner. So, on
August 24th, NASA announced that the astronauts What's next? would return home on SpaceX's Dragon instead,
finally ending this period of uncertainty. Now, the plan is that the Dragon, which was
supposed to bring four astronauts to the ISS in September as part of standard crew rotations,
will now bring only two out of four astronauts, making room for the crew of Starliner.
That would also mean that Wilmore and Williams (that's the astronauts who are
currently stuck) will join the Crew-9 team, becoming part of the official ISS expedition. The Crew-9 is set to return in February 2025,
meaning that Wilmore and Williams would be on the ISS for 8 months, instead
of the initially planned 8 days. It's worth noting that the astronauts are
perfectly safe on the ISS, and they're not stuck-stuck. Cargo ships are constantly
supplying the space station with food and water, and the ISS has supplies that could last
for months, even if resupplies stop. As for Starliner, it would return to
Earth without a crew in early September. Either way, Boeing is in big trouble. And now, not only because of their planes but
also because of their spacecraft. With that being said, Bill Nelson,
the current NASA administrator said that he's 100% certain that the
issues with the Starliner will be resolved and that it will eventually
fly NASA astronauts on a regular basis. We'll see how it goes. Outro Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed this video, you can watch my other videos,
too. See you soon. Bye.