Update: 07/03/2024 NASA Astronauts Continue To Be Stuck In Space
Despite recent mainstream media stating the Astronauts are not stuck in space, the actual situation they are in is defined in dictionaries as being stuck. According to dictionaries stuck is defined as “to be fixed in a particular position or unable to move or be moved”, since the spacecraft is no able to currently bring them back and they are fixed in a particular position at the International Space Station, stuck defines the situation perfectly.
According to NASA. they are not yet ready to bring United States Nasa Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back. The good news is that the battery on the spacecraft it expected to last longer than the 45 days limit they originally thought. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said they are possibly planning to extend the mission to 90 days to address the issues and to do studies on the spacecraft. They are doing proper tests to be sure it is safe to return the Astronauts back. They do not yet have a landing day set.
Both SpaceX and Boeing were awarded contracts in a partnership with NASA which started using private companies for space travel after the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
In a NASA report in 2019, both SpaceX and Boeing had “”significant safety and technical challenges with parachutes, propulsion and launch abort systems”, according to NASA. Both companies did have some issues during development. However, SpaceX had the first successful launch and return of two Astronauts in 2020. The SpaceX Dragon successfully completed that mission without any issues.
This is Boeing’s initial missions with Starliner spacecraft with humans on board. It has had several issues causing the Astronauts to not be able to return thus being stuck until they fix the Boeing spacecraft or get another one to return the Astronauts back here. The Boeing spacecraft was able to get the Astronauts to the International Space Station. However, during the travel, they detected helium leaks and malfunctions with the vehicle’s thrusters.
NASA said that the helium leaks are now stabilized. They also do have four of the five thrusters in operation again. No return date has been set until everything is corrected, and they are sure that it is safe.
After this incident, NASA should be expected to have at least a second means of transportation if something like this would occur again. NASA said they would have another spacecraft with SpaceX to return the Astronauts if they are unable to fully determine if this spacecraft will be safe.
Original Report: June 21st, 2024: NASA Astronauts Stuck In Space
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.
