2 Astronauts Stuck in Space After 8-Day Mission Goes Awry
NASA Space Technology
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A NASA mission has gone wrong.
Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore60, and Sunita Williams58, are stuck at the International Space Station after their spacecraft, Boeing’s Starliner, had several malfunctions, according to the Associated Press.
During the Starliner’s launch June 5, which was the first of its kind with people aboard, the spacecraft had a leak in its propulsion-related plumbing, but engineers deemed it to be “stable and isolated,” according to the Associated Pressand proceeded with the mission.
The next day however, as Wilmore and Williams approached the space stationfour more leaks emerged, and five thrusters—a device used for acceleration and station keeping—failed, per AP. The crew managed to dock at the station safely, but since June 6 have remained in space on a trip that was originally meant to last only eight days, according to the outlet.
At the moment, NASA must decide whether the Starliner can be made fit for traveling back to Earth, or if Wilmore and Williams should wait until a SpaceX Dragon craft can retrieve them, meaning they’ll remain at the space station until 2025 (SpaceX will launch its Dragon craft for its own mission next month, which will last until February, when it can return to Earth), according to the Associated Press.
Boeing, meanwhile, believes the Starliner is fit to bring Wilmore and Williams home.
“CFT is currently a crewed mission, and we still believe in Starliner’s capability and its flight rationale,” the company said in a statement to E! News. “If NASA decides to change the mission, we will take the actions necessary to configure Starliner for an uncrewed return.”
However, NASA officials said “no firm decisions” have been made for next steps during an Aug, 7 press conference, per the BBC. The predicament, however, is a matter of seat availability and cost. There are currently spacecrafts to get astronauts back to Earth at the space station, the Associated Press noted, but all seats are accounted for by members of other missions (There are currently four other Americans and three Russians aboard the International Space Stationin addition to Wilmore and Williams).
Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
Former NASA official Scott Hubbard told the Associated Press that the astronauts are only “kind of stuck,” as they are currently residing in the space station, with other astronauts and plenty of “supplies and work to do.”
If the Streamliner is not deemed fit for traveling back to Earth, it will be cut loose to make room for the SpaceX Dragon at the space station, and SpaceX will send only two astronauts on its mission next month, to save room for Wilmore and Williams on its four-person spacecraft, per AP.
As for how Wilmore and Williams are feeling? Neither of the astronauts have commented on the prospect of staying in space until 2025, but both are retired Navy captains and, the Associated Press reported, have “long” space missions behind them already.
“After maybe a week of going up there, it feels like you’ve been there your whole life,” Williams explained of space travel in an interview with India Today in 2016. “It feels natural.”
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