When NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched to the Worldwide House Station (ISS) in June, they anticipated to remain for simply eight days earlier than returning to Earth. However they’re nonetheless there.
The pair had been testing out Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft and had been the primary crew to fly aboard the automobile. However their mission took an surprising flip when technical points emerged with the spaceship’s thrusters, and helium leaks had been detected. The issues prompted NASA officers to increase Wilmore and Williams’ keep aboard the house station whereas engineers tried to find out if the Starliner was secure sufficient to deliver them dwelling.
Because the investigations continued, days changed into weeks. In August, NASA introduced that the 2 astronauts wouldn’t be coming dwelling on the Starliner and would as an alternative should hitch a trip on a returning SpaceX Crew Dragon, carrying the Crew-9 astronauts, in February 2025 on the earliest. The Starliner, in the meantime, was introduced again to Earth uncrewed in September, with NASA’s business crew program supervisor Steve Stich describing the homecoming as “darn close to flawless.”
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Stich added: “From a human perspective, all of us really feel pleased in regards to the profitable touchdown, however then there’s a chunk of us … that [wishes] it will have been the best way we had deliberate it … with Butch and Suni on board.”
In an extra twist, NASA mentioned simply final week that Crew-9 wouldn’t be returning to Earth until March at the earliest. The choice to delay the return of Crew-9 — with Wilmore and Williams on board — makes doable a handover interval with the incoming Crew-10 astronauts, throughout which the prevailing crew might help the brand new arrivals ease into their keep aboard the orbital outpost.
Wilmore and Williams seem to have stayed optimistic in regards to the surprising scenario, with the eight-day mission now having lasted greater than six months. “It’s important to flip the web page and have a look at the following alternative,” Williams mentioned in September. “We’re truly excited to fly in two completely different spacecraft … We’re testers”
Commenting in the identical interview, Wilmore mentioned he and Williams had been “very lucky” to have the ability to safely keep on the ISS for an prolonged interval and to have the ability to return to Earth utilizing a back-up possibility, including: “There’s many instances prior to now the place there haven’t been different choices.”
So, quite than spending the vacations with their households and buddies as they’d initially anticipated, Wilmore and Williams stay 250 miles above Earth, in microgravity circumstances, maybe dreaming about once they may truly get again to terra firma.
