Boeing Starliner's two astronauts are currently stranded in the International Space Station as the company scrambles to fix multiple spacecraft issues for their return voyage.
Earlier this week, NASA delayed astronauts Butch Wilmore's and Suni Williams's return flight by three weeks to give enough time for engineers enough time to fix all issues on the Boeing Starliner.
NASA and Boeing engineers have detected at least five helium leaks to the propulsion system and five thruster failures in its reaction-control systems shortly after the Starliner exited Earth's atmosphere.
Despite emerging problems, NASA remains confident to bring Williams and Wilmore home no later than June 26.
This was not the first time NASA had to resolve unexpected flight return delays in its decades of experience, many of which brought all passengers safely home.
Even if Boeing failed to reach the re-scheduled flight, NASA said the astronauts could stay at the space laboratory for 45 more days.
Boeing Starliner Mission Faced with More Delays
The delay with the Starliner's return flight is only the recent setback Boeing had to overcome in its long overdue and over-budgeted space mission.
Boeing had already delayed the Starliner four times before due to various technical issues in the rocket system, each adding more expenses to this costly project.
Bloomberg earlier estimated that the repeated delays have ballooned the spacecraft's cost to over $1.5 billion, nearly depleting the budget NASA allotted towards the project despite still being at first leg.
On the other hand, its competitor and fellow NASA grantee SpaceX is already preparing for its lunar missions as the space agency aims to launch the Artemis II flight by September 2025.
It does not help that the delays continue to power growing safety concerns on the company amid other controversies it is currently facing.
Safety Concerns, Legal Battles Haunt Boeing Productions
Just weeks ago, the Department of Justice said it is now posing to file criminal charges against the company for potentially violating its previous settlement agreement to improve the safety of its planes.
This is in addition to reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation contacting passengers of the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 telling they could be a "victim of a crime."
The federal them crackdowns follow a series of emergency landings involving Boeing planes malfunctioning shortly after takeoff.
Amid controversies, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun announced to step down as chief executive by the end of the year.
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