--- title: "Stranded Starliner Spacecraft’s Thrusters Have Been Overheating, NASA Admits" description: "The thrusters on Boeing's cursed Starliner space capsule keep overheating — and NASA is hard at work on a fix for the issue." date: "2024-07-11" modified: "2024-07-11" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/starliner-thrusters-overheating" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "boeing" - "NASA" - "starliner" - "the digest" --- # Stranded Starliner Spacecraft’s Thrusters Have Been Overheating, NASA Admits ![The thrusters on Boeing's cursed Starliner space capsule keep overheating — and NASA is hard at work on a fix for the issue.]() *\Image: NASA / Futurism\* ## Thrust of the Matter The thrusters on Boeing's cursed Starliner space capsule keep overheating — and NASA is hard at work on a fix for the issue that's led, in part, to its [astronauts being stranded]() on the International Space Station. As [*Ars Technica* reports](), NASA officials admitted [during a press conference]() earlier this week that the agency has been quietly testing out one of the spacecraft's errant thrusters here on Earth for the past month. After having [issues docking with the ISS]() due to its thrusters malfunctioning at the beginning of June, NASA apparently began investigating the issue at its White Sands, New Mexico test facility to get to the bottom of the problem. As its engineers discovered, the craft's four propulsion devices appear to be overheating. Starliner's four thrusters are, as *Ars* explains, situated around the circumference of the rocket in propulsion pods that agency officials refer to as "doghouses." Due to a design flaw that appears to have been discovered during those tests, the doghouses result in a thermos-like insulation that keeps heat in, which in turn causes them to overheat. ## Hot Dog Along with the discovery of the hot doghouse issue, NASA also learned during the White Sands tests that the thrusters were, well, thrusting too much. "What we have found in this flight is we have fired the thrusters more than expected, and I would say more frequently," explained Steve Stich, NASA's commercial crew program manager. "When I say frequently, I’m talking about how close you fire an individual thruster pulse to the next pulse of that thruster." "What we’re trying to do at White Sands is really replicating exactly what those pulses were that those thrusters saw, and then understand the heating effects from those pulses, and then make sure there’s no unintended consequences of those pulses," Stich continued. By testing the thruster out on the ground, NASA hopes, as *Ars* explains, to determine whether it was damaged from the additional stress it experienced. If agency engineers can prove that the thruster wasn't too harmed to fly, it could help them determine whether Starliner is safe to return the stranded astronauts back home — and given that the flight that was supposed to last only eight days has now stretched to a month, those tests couldn't wrap soon enough. **More on Starliner:** [*Stranded Astronauts "Absolutely Confident" in Boeing's Leaky Starliner*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()