NASA has postponed the decision on how to safely return two U.S. astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) due to ongoing issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
During a press conference on Wednesday, the space agency announced that it would make a final decision by the end of August.
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Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who launched on June 5, were originally scheduled to return after eight days.
What went so wildly wrong as to extend an eight-day mission out to what could be eight months? Find out here
However, technical problems with Starliner—specifically, the malfunction of five thrusters and a helium gas leak—have forced them to remain on the ISS.
NASA officials revealed that the astronauts’ current space suits are incompatible with alternative spacecraft options, such as SpaceX’s vehicles.
This incompatibility presents potential risks if the astronauts were to return on a SpaceX flight before receiving suitable suits, which would not be available until early 2025.
Another alternative is to travel on a SpaceX flight early next year, expanding the original eight-day mission into an eight-month trip.
Space scientist Simeon Barber from the Open University said that the situation increasingly suggests a SpaceX return might be inevitable.
“It seems that there are decision-makers at NASA who are unconvinced that a safe return can be guaranteed,” Dr Barber said.
“It is hard to see how that will be possible, so it feels to me that we are heading inexorably towards a return on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.”
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