Two astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule have been stuck 400 kilometers from Earth for several weeks. Following a helium leak, NASA prefers to take precautions and pushes back the return date.
A scenario that will make claustrophobics tremble. Two astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, are stuck aboard the capsule that is making the first manned flight of Boeing’s Starliner range since the beginning of June.
After a series of incidents, NASA prefers to ensure a safe return and has decided to extend the maximum duration of the flight by 45 to 90 days, noted CNN.
Two American astronauts will be staying aboard the International Space Station for longer than anticipated as engineers troubleshoot Boeing’s Starliner capsule. The veteran test pilots were scheduled to return to Earth more than two weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/CQfmgtDQ5a
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/1806824045192601951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Several incidents recorded
The capsule docked with the ISS (International Space Station) shortly after its liftoff in early June.
The anomalies began with a failure of the thrusters during the first leg of the journey. Since then, four of the five devices have been repaired and only one thruster will remain non-functional for the remainder of the mission, which does not prevent the capsule from moving. A little later, a helium leak has been reported.
As a reminder, this capsule had encountered some problems during takeoff, which was why it had been postponed twice.
No date set
For safety reasons and in order to better understand the origin of these anomalies, the ship will not return immediately. “We can bring Starliner in at any time”assures Boeing senior manager Mark Nappi.
Before adding: “But we don’t yet understand the anomalies well enough to fix them definitively. So the only way to do that is to take the time necessary to collect more data.”
The two astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, will have to be patient. “We are in no hurry to go home,” they assure.
They were able to join the astronauts already present on the ISS and are carrying out regular checksin conjunction with NASA. No firm return date has been announced at this time.
