They were supposed to stay in space for 7 days. Day 63 is already passing and the outlook is not very optimistic. Two astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) are stuck in orbit and will not return until 2025.
Mission commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams arrived at the space station on June 6. During the flight to the ISS, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft suffered a helium leak and five of its 28 engines failed. Just before the capsule docked, the astronauts managed to jettison two of them. The Americans were scheduled to be at the station for seven days.
Before the flight, NASA said the Starliner could remain docked at the ISS for a maximum of 45 days. Two American astronauts have been at the station for 63 days. Butch and Suni’s flight is Boeing’s first test flight with a crew on board. It has been canceled twice.
Now the astronauts cannot safely return to Earth, and NASA is losing patience with the American giant and hinting that scientists may not even board the Starliner. It is Boeing’s biggest space rival – SpaceX may be selected for the rescue mission of Wilmore and Williams. However, this solution will likely extend their stay in space by another half year.
Boeing conducted ground tests that showed the failures may have been caused by faulty seals that swell in the heat and restrict fuel flow. This information did not reassure NASA officials, who, as CNN reported, “they feel increasingly uncomfortable with the uncertainty surrounding the state of the engines” send. As a result, no one is convinced that the return of the Starliner astronauts to Earth will be safe.
The US space agency is still analyzing the situation and preparing contingency plans.
