It has been over a week since two NASA Astronauts were set to depart the International Space Station. NASA advised they have not been able to leave due to helium leaks and malfunctions with the vehicle’s thrusters that were detected during the travel from Earth to the International Space Stations on Wednesday June 5, 2024. The problem is located at the cylindrical attachment which is a part that gets discarded upon reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

The spacecraft is a Starliner model built by Boeing. Boeing has had multiple problems with jet airplanes recently and now the spacecraft. This was Starliner’s first mission with a crew. Boeing previously tested the Starliner without a crew in 2019 and 2022. During the test flights, NASA did document problems with Boeing’s software and the Starliner’s propulsions system. NASA thought those issues had been fixed. This journey was supposed to be the crew tested flight before NASA was expected to use the Starliner as a regular service spacecraft by providing cost-effective, safe and reliable space travel starting in 2025.

The two United States Nasa Astronauts are the Pilot, Suni Williams and Commander, Butch Wilmore.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said at a press conference that they expect that the earliest date the astronauts will return is Wednesday June 26. He said NASA takes extra precautions by analyzing data and doing further checks to be sure that everything will be safe before they will allow the crew to return. Steven Stich said, “So far, we don’t see any scenario where Starliner is not going to be able to bring Butch and Suni home.”

Many space experts including SpaceX employees advised NASA is doing the right thing by being cautious before sending the crew back to Earth. They said there is some concern about the food supply as there are other Astronauts from Russia and other countries and they did not expect to have the extra two people for this extended amount of time. However, typically there is more of a supply that is needed for instances such as this one. SpaceX and spacecraft from Russia can and do regular delivers of supplies including food to the International Space Station.

We will keep you posted of the return of the NASA Astronauts.