On Tuesday, March 16, NASA announced another delay that will keep two American astronauts, who have been stuck on the International Space Station for several months, from returning home.
On Tuesday, March 16, NASA announced another delay that will keep two American astronauts, who have been stuck on the International Space Station for several months, from returning home.
Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williamsarrived at the ISS in June aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. They were scheduled to spend eight days in the orbiting laboratory, but they have yet to return to Earth, NASA said in a blog post. The reason was problems with the Starliner’s propulsion system that occurred during the flight.
In September, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore noticed strange sounds coming from a speaker inside the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. It’s not yet clear what was causing the strange and somewhat eerie noise. During the flight to the space station, Starliner communicates with it using a radio frequency system. However, once docked with the station, the sound is transmitted via a cable.
The space agency conducted intensive testing of Starliner for several weeks, but decided to return the ship to Earth without astronauts. It was assumed that Wilmore and Williams, who were stuck on the ISS, would be able to return home with members of the SpaceX mission called Crew-9, writes Sciencealert.
The Crew-9 mission arrived at the ISS in late September with two astronauts and two spare seats for the survivors. All four were scheduled to return home in February 2025. But on Tuesday, NASA announced that Crew-10, which is supposed to replace Crew-9 and the stranded pair, will now launch no earlier than March 2025. Both crews will be required to remain on board during a «transition period.»
«This change gives NASA and SpaceX teams time to complete processing of the new Dragon spacecraft for the mission,» NASA said in a statement.
As a result, Wilmore and Williams will likely spend more than nine months in space, rather than the eight days originally planned.
In November, after a Russian spacecraft docked with the International Space Station to deliver supplies, astronauts reported an unpleasant odor and donned protective gear.
