Two astronauts, stuck in space after a Boeing Starliner experienced technical difficulties, have greeted a team of astronauts who arrived on a SpaceX mission to take them home.
A partially-crewed SpaceX capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday. The extra space was needed to fit two astronauts – Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams – that have been stuck on the station since June.
However, the hitchhikers will have to wait until February next year to return home, as NASA normally rotates its station crews every six months.
Welcome, #Crew9! After floating through the Dragon’s hatch, our new arrivals join the crew aboard the @Space_Station. They’ll spend five months conducting @ISS_Research and maintenance on the orbiting lab. pic.twitter.com/DJX7f9vxlg
undefined NASA (@NASA) September 29, 2024
The two stranded astronauts were initially set to return to Earth on June 13th, following the launch of Boeing’s Starliner capsule on its first crewed flight from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 5th.
However, the Starliner had faced a series of issues even before the June 5th launch. An earlier attempt on June 1st was aborted moments before liftoff due to a performance issue with a ground control computer.
During the 25-hour journey to the International Space Station, the spacecraft encountered multiple helium leaks and a malfunctioning thruster. Upon arrival at the ISS on June 6th, docking was further delayed as four of the 28 thrusters failed.
At the time, a Boeing spokesperson said that four of the five thrusters previously shutting down are now “operating normally.”
“This means only one thruster out of 27 is currently offline. This does not present an issue for the return mission,” the spokesperson said.
On August 2nd, Boeing posted an update on the Starliner mission, showing confidence in its success.
“Boeing remains confident in the Starliner spacecraft and its ability to return safely with crew, ” the update reads. “We continue to support NASA’s requests for additional testing, data, analysis and reviews to affirm the spacecraft’s safe undocking and landing capabilities.”
On August 14th, NASA said it was still analyzing thruster data to decide on Starliner’s return, as the thrusters are crucial for holding the capsule in the right position when it descends from orbit.
Reportedly, Starliner was also making unusual sounds. NASA eventually scheduled it to return crewless, making it back to Earth on September 7th.
“I want to recognize the work the Starliner teams did to ensure a successful and safe undocking, deorbit, re-entry, and landing,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program.
“We will review the data and determine the next steps for the program.”
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