Washington: Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are stranded in space. This is happening due to helium leaks in the spacecraft. Meanwhile, a heart-wrenching report related to his case has come out. CBS News reports that both NASA and Boeing managers were aware of the leak, despite it being deemed safe for launch. However he considered it too small to jeopardize the mission.
But after reaching space, four leaks were spotted, due to which the return of the astronauts is stuck. Their return was supposed to be on June 13, which has not happened yet.
NASA is facing a new problem after Sunita Williams gets stuck in space. Problems are being seen in NASA’s spacesuits. On June 24, NASA experienced a spacesuit malfunction, causing the cancellation of a spacewalk to the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mike Barrett were about to leave the ISS. But he had to cancel his plan.
It was canceled after Dyson’s spacesuit suffered a servicing and water leak. This is another bad news for the ISS spacesuit situation.
9 days of mission, 22 days have passed?
Actually, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore went into space on June 5, 2024. But this 9 day mission already passed 22 days. Williams and Wilmore were part of this trip for testing the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. They had to check that the Starliner was launching properly, right to dock with the ISS? After this, it had to return to earth. But after the successful launch and reaching the space station, it malfunctioned. This is the reason why Sunita and her partner had problems in their return.
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What is NASA doing?
NASA is trying to fix the malfunction in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Steve Stich from NASA said that we are following the SOP. Moving forward based on data. It is believed that Sunita Williams and Wilmore will remain on the ISS until July 2, after which their return is possible.
What happened to the spaceship?
Williams and Wilmore were scheduled to return to Earth on June 13, 2024. But the helium started leaking in the plane and the thruster also had a technical fault. After this, NASA said to return Williams and Wilmore on June 26. But now the day of return has moved forward again. The Boeing Starliner spacecraft can stay connected to the space center for about 45 days. However, in severe circumstances, its duration can be 72 days. This claim has been made by NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich.
People expect from Elon Musk
Apart from this, Elon Musk’s company SpaceX is also considering sending Crew Dragon. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon reached the ISS with four passengers in March. It has a capacity of 4 passengers. In emergency situation, more passengers can be seated in it.