NASA Postpones Return of Stranded Starliner Astronauts to March
NASA has it too postponed the return to Earth of Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, astronauts stranded on the International Space Station after Boeing’s Starliner capsule malfunctioned mid-year.
The space shuttle crew arrived at the ISS in June. The goal was to test the full capabilities of the Starliner, including launch, docking, and recovery systems. This campaign was planned to last one week. Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters failed before docking with the ISS. Boeing said its technology could ensure the safe return of astronauts. However, NASA expressed doubts and concluded that the risk was too high. The agency entrusted SpaceX with the task.
Elon Musk’s company launched the Crew-9 mission in September to, among other things, retrieve William and Wilmore. Until now, the astronauts had been scheduled to return in February on a Crew Dragon rocket. However, NASA has announced that it expects the mission to return to Earth after the arrival of Crew-10, which will be launched in late March 2025 at the earliest.
The repairs will allow SpaceX and NASA engineers to complete development of the new Dragon spacecraft, which will be sent to the company’s facility in Florida early next month.
“The design, assembly, testing, and final assembly of a new spacecraft is a complex endeavor that requires detailed attention,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program in a statement. “We appreciate the hard work of the SpaceX. Dragon fleet expansion team in supporting our mission and the flexibility of the station program and mission crew as we work together to complete the flight readiness of the new capsule.”
NASA said the crews of Crew-9 and Crew-10 must complete a “handover period,” in which the ISS residents share knowledge and experience with the arrivals. This process ensures the proper functioning of the science experiments inside and the maintenance of the orbital complex.
NASA and SpaceX experts have explored several options for coordinating the next crew delivery. They determined that the March launch of Crew-10 was “the best option to meet NASA’s needs and achieve the space station’s 2025 goals,” according to a press release.
A Long Journey
The ISS received two resupply flights in November, ensuring crew members have enough food, water, clothing and oxygen. However, some experts have warned of possible health risks for Wilmore and Williams after spending more than nine months in space.
The scientific community has been studying the effects of atmospheric light on the human body since the 1970s. In the years since the first arrival of the moon, it has identified conditions such as weight loss, heart failure, physical problems, and the development of kidney stones.
Recent research from University College London suggests that the structure and function of the kidneys can also be permanently damaged, although this is more severe in the case of astronauts who travel very far from Earth, which is not the case on the ISS.
NASA reports that crews on missions to the ISS typically have long stays, with an average of six months. It added that some astronauts have undertaken missions of up to one year to participate in research on human adaptation to space travel, with the aim of exploring the future moon and Martians.
This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.
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