Boeing's Starliner Prepares For ISS Departure, Crewless Landing In New Mexico Following 'Tense Technical Discussion' With NASA
Boeing's Starliner Prepares For ISS Departure, Crewless Landing In New Mexico Following 'Tense Technical Discussion' With NASA
Boeing believed in its spacecraft's ability to return the astronauts safely but the NASA team found "limitations" on the company's modeling on thruster degradation for the remaining flight, Stich said.Boeing Co.'s (NYSE:BA) Starliner is slated to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) without a crew later today after NASA decided to return the two astronauts who went to space aboard the spacecraft later on a SpaceX vehicle.
波音公司（NYSE:BA）的Starliner将在今天之后从国际空间站（ISS）上无人驾驶, 此前NASA决定稍后将两名乘坐该航天器的宇航员送回地球，乘坐SpaceX航天器返回。
What Happened: The decision to return Boeing's Starliner spacecraft without a crew was a "tough" one, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program Steve Stich said on Wednesday.
发生了什么：NASA商业航天计划经理史蒂夫·斯蒂奇（Steve Stich）周三表示，决定让波音公司的Starliner航天器无人驾驶返回地球是一个“艰难的”决定。
There was "some tension" in the last meeting between Boeing and the space agency on the decision, Stich said while adding that he would not characterize it as "heated."
在关于此决定的最后一次会议上，斯蒂奇表示，波音公司与NASA之间存在一些紧张气氛，尽管他并没有将其描述为“激烈的”。
Boeing believed in its spacecraft's ability to return the astronauts safely but the NASA team found "limitations" on the company's modeling on thruster degradation for the remaining flight, Stich said.
斯蒂奇表示，波音公司相信其航天器能够安全将宇航员带回地球，但NASA团队发现该公司对剩余飞行的推进器退化建模存在“局限性”。
"I wouldn't say it was a yelling, screaming kind of a meeting. It was a tense technical discussion where we had both sides listening intently to all the data and in the end make a decision whether to return crewed or uncrewed...," Stich said.
斯蒂奇表示：“我不会说那是一个咆哮、尖叫的会议。这是一个紧张的技术讨论，两边都认真听取所有数据，并最终做出决定，是返回有人驾驶还是无人驾驶...”。
Why It Matters: Last month, NASA announced that it would return Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore via a SpaceX vehicle in February.
为何重要：上个月，NASA宣布将在二月份通过SpaceX航天器将苏尼塔·威廉姆斯（Sunita Williams）和布奇·威尔莫尔（Butch Wilmore）返航。
The two astronauts launched into space on June 5 aboard Starliner. Though the two were supposed to return in about eight days, technical issues identified with the spacecraft while docking, including helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters, delayed the return journey, and the agency subsequently decided to scrap bringing the astronauts back on the Boeing spacecraft altogether.
这两名宇航员于6月5日乘坐Starliner航天器进入太空。尽管计划在约8天内返回, 但在对接时发现了航天器的一些技术问题，包括氦气泄漏和航天器姿控推进器问题，延迟了返航的时间，随后NASA决定完全取消使用波音航天器将宇航员带回地球。
The two will now return with Crew-9 astronauts in February. Crew 9 mission will launch to the space station no earlier than Sept. 24 with just two astronauts, instead of four as previously planned, to make space for Williams and Wilson on the return journey.
现在，他们将在2月份与第9组宇航员一同返回。第9组任务计划最早于9月24日发射，仅有两位宇航员，而不是之前计划的四位，为了为Williams和Wilson在返航途中腾出空间。
The Starliner is now slated to undock from the space station on Sept. 6 at about 6 p.m. EDT and land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at about 12:03 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Starliner计划于9月6日晚上6点左右从空间站分离，并于9月7日凌晨12:03在新墨西哥州的白沙空间港降落。
Starliner's return is expected to be safe and uneventful as the spacecraft has previously completed a successful uncrewed entry and landing as part of its previous flight tests.
预计Starliner的返回将安全且顺利，因为该飞船在以前的飞行测试中已经成功完成了无人驾驶的进入和着陆。
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Photo courtesy: Flickr
照片提供：Flickr
