The Boeing Starliner blasted off from the International Space Station in June with veteran NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore. The mission was intended to last eight days, but a technical failure delayed the astronauts’ return, causing the mission to be aborted. It was extended by another eight months.
The Boeing Starliner capsule suffered propulsion problems including a helium leak resulting in aborted return. The spacecraft’s service module reported several small helium leaks, making it unsafe for travel. Helium is essential to maintain the structural integrity and mobility of the spacecraft. As well as helium leaks, the spacecraft was discovered to have problems with its thrusters and valves.
The purpose of this mission was to demonstrate the Boeing Starliner’s ability to carry humans to the ISS. Boeing needs to enter space Elon Musk’s SpaceX has entered to provide crew transportation services to NASA.
The transport of Ms. Williams and Mr. Billmore was the first crewed flight of the Starliner.
SpaceX to the rescue
The NASA-SpaceX spacecraft, carrying Crew-9 members NASA astronaut Nick Hague (commander) and Roscosmos astronaut Alexander Gorbunov (mission specialist), returned to the International Space Station (ISS) last month to bring back Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore. ) arrived at.
Crew-9 members will have two vacant seats for NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams that will be filled when the spacecraft returns next year.
The astronauts will now return home in February next year.
Interestingly, the Starliner returned to Earth after weeks of extensive testing but without the crew. Starliner’s withdrawal delayed Crew-9’s launch from mid-August to September as NASA wanted more time to evaluate Starliner’s reliability.
Hague and Gorbunov will remain in space for five months before returning home.
survive in space
Williams and Billmore’s prolonged stay raised concerns about their survival, particularly regarding food and oxygen supplies.
NASA assured that there is no immediate danger to the astronauts and that the ISS has sufficient provisions to support the crew for additional time.
“The space station is well supplied with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing and oxygen,” NASA said. The agency stressed that regular resupply missions would ensure the astronauts’ needs are met, citing the regular arrivals of cargo spacecraft carrying food, fuel and supplies.
The space station revealed that two spacecraft – one carrying “8,200 pounds of food, fuel, supplies” and the other carrying “three tons of cargo” – recently arrived at the ISS.
Staying in space for long periods of time requires unique arrangements. On the ISS, astronauts can sleep anywhere – the floor, ceiling or walls, due to zero gravity. They use a sleeping station similar to a phone booth, with sleeping bags and pillows attached to the floor, wall, or ceiling. Astronauts can also make video calls, audio calls or send emails through NASA.
On the ISS, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore also have access to a vegetable production system (veggie garden) that allows them to grow fresh produce and even flowers in space. During their long stay, the two have been experimenting with various technologies to improve crop growth in space.
