According to an Associated Press report, NASA announced on Wednesday that it is still deciding whether to keep astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams stationed on the International Space Station ( ISS) and whether to extend them there until “early next year.”
Instead of returning to Earth aboard Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsules, Wilmore and Williams may hitch a ride on SpaceX’s future vision, extending their sit until February 2025. If the Boeing aircraft is determined to be ineligible for their trip, NASA and SpaceX will work together to prepare the explorers ‘ return.
The explorers left from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in early June, and at first they were only going to be there for a year. They were the first team aboard Boeing’s Starliner. However, some setbacks occurred during the mission, including jet problems and gas leakage. In recent months, astronauts have been carrying out additional tests in space to address these issues—things that could n’t be accomplished on Earth.
More information is being reviewed by Nasa officers until the end of the week or the start of the following week before making a decision.
” We’ve got time available before we bring Starliner home and we want to use that time wisely”, said Ken Bowersox, Nasa’s space operations mission chief.
Russ DeLoach, Nasa’s safety chief, added,” We do n’t have enough insight and data to make some sort of simple, black-and-white calculation”.
If the decision is made to move to SpaceX, it may mean removing two of the four pilots who are already scheduled for the late September boat trip. When that six-month objective concludes, Wilmore and Williams may hold the vacant seats in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
The space station’s limited number of landing locations for US pills adds to this problem. Boeing’s capsules may flee before SpaceX’s Dragon arrives to clear one of the places.
Boeing maintains that Starliner is also capable of properly transporting explorers back to Earth. The company made a list of the jet tests carried out in place and on the ground since the launch earlier this month.
Unless an crisis arises, NASA prefers to keep SpaceX’s existing staff place until their replacements arrive. The captain’s vision was actually scheduled to return to Earth this month, but it was changed to a sixth month as a result of the confusion surrounding Starliner, which will keep them stop until the end of September. Generally, space station operations next six weeks, though some have extended to a whole year.
Wilmore and Williams, both retired Navy officers, have recently spent decades on the area place. Upon their appearance, they rapidly adapted to train duties, assisting with research and repairs.
