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When two veteran NASA astronauts blasted off on a\u00a0test drive of Boeing\u2019s new capsule<\/a>, they expected to head home from the International Space Station in a week or so.<\/p>\n It\u2019s now three weeks and counting for\u00a0Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams<\/a>\u00a0as NASA and Boeing<\/a> troubleshoot\u00a0equipment problems<\/a>\u00a0that popped up on the way there.<\/p>\n Three potential landing dates were called off and their return flight was put on hold. On Friday, officials said\u00a0there\u2019s no rush to bring them home<\/a>\u00a0and more testing will be done first.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,\u201d said Steve Stich, NASA\u2019s commercial crew program manager.<\/p>\n Stich said the astronauts could use the capsule if there was an emergency at the space station and they needed to make a quick getaway.<\/p>\n The long-delayed test flight is the first with astronauts aboard. Boeing will eventually join SpaceX<\/a> in ferrying crews to and from the space station for NASA.<\/p>\n When the return trip was put on hold, NASA said it wanted more time to analyze problems in the spacecraft\u2019s propulsion system, which is used to maneuver in flight. The propulsion system is attached to the capsule, but it doesn\u2019t come back to Earth for inspection. It is ditched during reentry and burns up.<\/p>\n The space agency also said it didn\u2019t want the departure to conflict with spacewalks. But Monday\u2019s spacewalk was called off\u00a0after water leaked from an astronaut\u2019s spacesuit<\/a>\u00a0while she was still inside the orbiting lab. A spacewalk planned for Tuesday has been postponed until the end of July while the leak is scrutinized.<\/p>\n Five of the capsule\u2019s 28 thrusters went down during docking, as the capsule closed in on the space station. All but one thruster was restarted, and they worked during a later test firing, NASA said. Officials suspect that heat from all the thruster action at docking caused the shutdown. The one faulty thruster has been turned off.<\/p>\n Stich said more thruster testing on the ground will be done before setting a return date.<\/p>\n The capsule launched June 5 with one small helium leak, but four more leaks sprung up by the time it reached the space station. Helium is used to pressurize fuel for the thrusters, and a faulty rubber seal was suspected in the initial leak. Officials say there\u2019s an ample supply of helium, and Boeing says the leaks are stable and not a concern.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand these issues for safe return,\u201d said Boeing program manager Mark Nappi. \u201cWe don\u2019t understand these issues well enough to fix them permanently.\u201d<\/p>\n Stich said it will take a couple weeks for the thruster testing in the New Mexico desert. Initially, officials said the capsule could be at the space station for 45 days because of the batteries on board, but Friday they said that could be extended.<\/p>\n Wilmore and Williams have been pitching in with chores and research at the space station, along with their duties checking out systems on the Boeing capsule. Both previously spent time at the space station. NASA said there were plenty of supplies at the space station for the pair and the seven long-term residents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nWhy was the Starliner return trip postponed?<\/h4>\n
What are the problems being investigated?<\/h4>\n
What\u2019s next?<\/h4>\n
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