Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s weeklong remain in area has actually extended forever after thruster failures and helium leakages in their Boeing spacecraft have actually rendered it not able to bring them back to Earth
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FILE – NASA astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore stand together for an image enroute to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for their liftoff on the Boeing Starliner pill to the global spaceport station. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)
NASA stated Wednesday it’s still choosing whether to keep 2 astronauts at the International Space Station till early next year and send their struggling Boeing pill back empty.
Instead of flying Boeing’s Starliner back to Earth, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would capture a trip on SpaceX’s next flight. That alternative would keep them at the spaceport station up until next February.
The test pilots prepared for being away simply a week approximately when they soared away as Starliner’s very first team. Thruster failures and helium leakages spoiled the pill’s journey to the area station, raising doubts about its capability to return securely and leaving the astronauts in limbo.
NASA authorities stated they’re examining more information before deciding by end of next week or start of the next. These thrusters are important for holding the pill in the ideal position when it comes time to come down from orbit.
“We’ve got time readily available before we bring Starliner home and we wish to utilize that time sensibly,” stated Ken Bowersox, NASA’s area operations objective chief.
Changing to SpaceX would need bumping 2 of the 4 astronauts appointed to the next ferryboat flight, presently targeted for late September. Wilmore and Williams would take the empty seats in SpaceX’s Dragon pill as soon as that half-year objective ends.
Another problem: The spaceport station has simply 2 parking locations for U.S. pills. Boeing’s pill w