Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who traveled from Earth to NASA’s space station, are still stuck in the spaceship without being able to return to Earth. Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were carried by Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for the first time on June 5. That is, the malfunction in the Starliner probe has not yet been resolved. The two who came to the station for a ten-day long mission have now been staying with other travelers in the station for two months.
If it is not safe to return the two in the Starliner probe, NASA has stated that they will return the two in SpaceX’s Dragon crew capsule in February 2025.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft carrying two astronauts was launched on June 5. After a 24-hour long journey, both of them reached the station safely. During the journey to the station, helium leaks occurred and the thrusters, which control the speed of travel, malfunctioned several times. Investigations and tests related to this are now going on. The aim is to return both of them in the Starliner spacecraft, but NASA has decided to use SpaceX’s Dragon capsule in the final companionship. Therefore, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmer will have to remain in the station.
Meanwhile, NASA has postponed the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission to carry four astronauts to the space station to September 24. The mission was scheduled to launch on August 18. Crew 9 can be sent only after the Starliner spacecraft is removed from the station. This is the first manned mission of the Boeing spacecraft. The probe, which was launched on June 5, suffered helium leaks and malfunctioned thrusters several times during its journey to the station. Investigation and tests are going on in this regard. Meanwhile, the date for the return of the mission team has not been announced.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore of Indian origin reached space in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on the 5th of this last month. Then, their return journey which was to be on June 13 was changed to Wednesday, June 26. But according to the information coming out now, the return will be delayed due to technical problems in the probe. With this, the launch of the Boeing Starliner carrying man into space is heading towards failure. At the same time, Sunita Williams and Wilmore, who are in the space station, are safe. But there are reports that if the Starliner probe attempts a reentry, it could endanger both their lives.
At the same time, the science world says what happened, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft carrying Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore was launched on June 5. This is the first manned mission of a Boeing-built spacecraft. The goal is to test how capable the Starliner spacecraft is for future launch missions. The spacecraft was able to successfully dock with the station and reach the station, but encountered technical problems throughout the journey, including a helium leak. The original mission was only nine days long. Both were supposed to return to Earth on June 13. Helium leaks and problems with the thrusters delayed the return and the travelers had to spend several days on the station. June 26 is the last date to return. But it didn’t happen. A new date has not been announced yet.
Normally, the Starliner probe can stay on the station for 45 days. It can also be extended up to 72 days with backup systems. But it is not clear whether the spacecraft used for the test mission is capable of doing so. Fuel leakage is a big challenge.
NASA and the Boeing team are working to solve the problem. These issues can be resolved only after detailed investigations. NASA officials say it is too late to collect and verify information related to the problems.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the only rescue. If the Starliner spacecraft is not safe enough to return Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to Earth, there are reports that Elon Musk’s SpaceX crew may take steps to return them using the Dragon spacecraft. For Boeing, that’s a huge setback. For this reason, there may not be a quick decision regarding SpaceX. Boeing officials say that the current problems with the Starliner spacecraft are solvable and that SpaceX should not be considered.
However, Sunita Williams and Willmore will remain in orbit until the Starliner probe issues are resolved. We will know in the coming days if the problem can be solved.
At the same time, NASA is being criticized for the incident in which Sunita Williams was trapped in the space station due to a malfunction in the Starliner spacecraft that was brought to the International Space Station. There has also been a controversy that the authorities were aware of the technical faults in advance. But the controversy is that it was ignored saying that there was no major problem. Along with NASA, Boeing, the Starliner manufacturing company, has also been under the shadow of controversy. But NASA and Boeing have not responded to this controversy. Sunita and her companion Butch Wilmore reached space on the 5th of this month. Their journey, which was to return on the 13th, was postponed to the 26th. This also did not happen. 58-year-old Sunita reached the space station for the third time. This was the maiden voyage of the Boeing Starliner.
The Boeing mission went through many crises. The mission was postponed twice due to technical problems. A helium gas leak in the Boeing Starliner probe made the mission difficult in the final stages. Helium gas leaks occurred in the spacecraft 5 times. Some of the 28 thrusters are malfunctioning. 14 thrusters are required to recover. It can stay in touch with the International Space Station for 45 days. In rare cases it can be extended up to 72 days. In the meantime, NASA hopes to fix the problem and get the probe back on board.
Sunita Williams, who studied at the US Naval Academy, was selected for NASA space travel in 1998. Sunita, who reached the space station in 2006 and 2012, holds the distinction of being the second woman to walk in space for the longest time (50 hours and 40 minutes).NASA’s Francisco Rubio was previously stranded in the space station. He left in September 2022 and returned on September 27, 2023 due to a malfunction in the Soyuz spacecraft he was traveling in. He spent 371 days in the station.
