\n<\/p>\n
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams on the International Space Station<\/p>\n
NASA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams may be stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) until February 2025 after issues cropped up with the spacecraft they rode to the station. This was the first crewed test flight of that capsule, Boeing\u2019s Starliner, and it is not yet clear whether it will be safe for Wilmore and Williams to use it to get home.<\/p>\n
Starliner launched on 5 June, with the intention of spending about a week docked to the ISS before shuttling the astronauts back to Earth. The launch had been delayed by a myriad of small problems with the spacecraft, and even on the day of lift-off the craft experienced minor helium leaks that engineers decided were not enough of a problem for another delay.<\/p>\n
But by the time it reached the ISS, more helium leaks had sprung and five of Starliner\u2019s 28 thrusters had failed. Wilmore and Williams boarded the ISS safely \u2013 but\u00a0it is now a month beyond their planned return to Earth, and the next move is uncertain.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started this mission, it was a test mission,\u201d said Ken Bowersox at NASA during a 7 August press conference. \u201cWe knew that it potentially had a higher risk than a flight on a vehicle that has more experience.\u201d Now, he says there are disagreements within NASA as to whether the risk of more leaks and thruster failure during a return flight is too high to put people back on board Starliner.<\/p>\n A major part of assessing that risk has been attempting to recreate the issues that Starliner has seen in space with tests on the ground, said NASA\u2019s Steve Stich during the press conference. He said there has been some progress, but not yet enough to significantly lower the uncertainty in how Starliner will perform on its way back to Earth. \u201cWe can\u2019t totally prove with certainty [that] what we\u2019re seeing on orbit is exactly what we\u2019re seeing on the ground,\u201d\u00a0said Stich.<\/p>\n Of course, this does not mean that Wilmore and Williams will be stuck aboard the ISS forever \u2013 there are contingency plans. If NASA does decide that the risks with Starliner are too high, Starliner\u2019s software will have to be reconfigured for an autonomous, uncrewed return to Earth.\u00a0Then, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule currently docked to the ISS will be reconfigured to carry two extra astronauts.<\/p>\n But that isn\u2019t the main option. There is another plan to bring the astronauts home using the next Crew Dragon that is launched. The date for that launch was just delayed to September \u2013 it was originally intended to carry four astronauts to the ISS, but it may carry only two, leaving room for Wilmore and Williams when the mission is over in February 2025.<\/p>\n Wilmore and Williams are trained to perform all of the planned activities for that mission, including spacewalks, but this plan would extend their stay in space from the scheduled eight days to nearly eight months. NASA has already directed SpaceX and Boeing to start working on the updates needed to make either plan happen, but a choice has not been made yet.<\/p>\n \u201cThose are backup contingency plans,\u201d said ISS manager Dana Weigel at the press conference. \u201cWe have not made any decisions at all in terms of anchoring to a specific plan.\u201d Stich said that a decision is likely to be made in mid-August. The greater impacts of this struggle on NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program remain to be seen.<\/p>\n Topics:<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n