NASA
Starliner Works “Exceptionally Well” as Safe Haven in Real-life Scenario (News Release)
Week in Review: Starliner crew wraps up third week in space
Wednesday started as any other morning on-orbit for Starliner’s maiden crew, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Their exercise routine was followed by organizing cargo inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module.
But the nominal day quickly changed when a satellite broke apart at an altitude near the International Space Station.
Shortly after 9 p.m. EDT, NASA instructed all astronauts to seek shelter in their respective spacecraft. Wilmore and Williams activated their Safe Haven procedures, sheltered inside Starliner, and began preparations for a possible undocking from the station if it became necessary.
They closed the hatch before the closest debris approach, which passed without issue.
“Starliner’s Safe Haven worked exceptionally well and as envisioned for this case,” said Ed Van Cise, the Starliner flight director who coordinated the sheltering actions with Wilmore and Williams.
Mission Control monitored the path of debris and after about an hour the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and resume station operations – which in this case was sleep. Starliner was out of docked quiescent mode for about three hours.
Wilmore and Williams performed two prior Safe Haven exercises inside Starliner, as part of the CFT test objectives. However, the additional metrics gathered on Wednesday evening will benefit Starliner’s certification process and sharpen the experience for future crews.
Starliner remains available for return in case of an emergency on the space station that would require the crew to leave orbit immediately and come back to Earth.
The opportunity to learn more about how Starliner performs in space is also giving Wilmore and Williams the additional time they had hoped for in zero gravity.
Earlier in the week, Wilmore cheered on the University of Tennessee’s baseball team, who played for and won the national championship, from the space station cupola. Wilmore is a Tennessee native and achieved a Master of Science in Aviation Systems from UT.
The ISS crew also helped prepare astronauts Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt for a spacewalk. Their time outside the station ended early due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on Dyson’s spacesuit.
The crew members were not in any danger as a result of the leak.
Tuesday, all nine astronauts worked on advanced microgravity research, checked spacesuits and performed maintenance on the orbiting laboratory. Wilmore and Williams spent the evening inside the Harmony module maintaining plumbing gear.
They replaced the pressure control and pump assembly motor that supports the space station’s main restroom.
Next week, the Starliner crew will work with flight controllers to power up the spacecraft and load software files, charge batteries on a camera and their tablets, and perform other housekeeping activities. In addition to their valuable contributions to the space station, Wilmore and Williams are also helping ground teams collect critical data for longer-duration Starliner missions.
Source: StarlinerUpdates.com
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