The two astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station since June may still be months away from returning to Earth due to reasons including ill-fitting spacesuits.
Two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will be spending their eight-day trip aboard the ISS. Helium leak and thruster failure NASA and Boeing are testing whether it’s safe for astronauts to return aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, but are also considering alternatives in light of possible risks.
NASA has not yet made a decision, but one option would include returning astronauts aboard the Dragon spacecraft built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is already docked at the station, a NASA representative said at a press conference last week. Ars Technical Reported.
But there are complications with that approach, explains Swapna Krishna, a journalist with a space-themed YouTube channel. Ad AstraIf NASA chooses that option, Wilmore and Williams would be the fifth and sixth astronauts aboard a spacecraft that can only carry four passengers. And because their Starliner suits are not compatible with the Dragon spacecraft, they would have to return to Earth without them. This isn’t dangerous in itself, but it does offer less protection if something goes wrong with the capsule.
The suit designs and plugs differ between the Starliner and Dragon spacecraft because Commercial Manned Space Missions It was done by NASA. Previously, NASA was heavily involved in the manufacturing and testing of spacecraft and space suits.
But since NASA developed its Commercial Crew Program, the agency has given private companies more freedom to develop and manufacture equipment for NASA, including spacesuits, so long as they meet extensive safety requirements. For example, NASA doesn’t stipulate that the spacesuits for each commercial spacecraft have to be compatible with each other. In fact, Krishna said, it could even be beneficial to have two different spacesuit designs for each spacecraft.
“If the spacesuits used the same type of plug and any defect was found in that plug or any other type of standardized connector, it would shut down both spacecraft,” she said. Sunday Video.
A Boeing spokesman referred a request for comment to NASA. NASA and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. NASA has said that no astronauts are “stranded” on the ISS.
Paul Hennessy (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Another option would be to return the astronauts aboard a separate Dragon spacecraft, scheduled to arrive at the ISS in September. This spacecraft would arrive at the space station with just two of the usual four-person crew and could send extra (Dragon-compatible) spacesuits, allowing Wilmore and Williams to return to Earth fully kitted out in the two remaining seats.
But if NASA chooses this option, the Starliner, carrying the first astronauts, will have to undock and return to Earth autonomously to make room for the Dragon spacecraft, which is due to arrive in September. It may not be possibleDue to the structure of Boeing’s contract with NASA, the company would have had to absorb additional costs related to technical malfunctions on the Starliner. Cost: $1.6 billion About the Starliner program.
If Starliner were to leave the space station without a crew member, the ISS astronauts would have to install two extra seats on the remaining Dragon spacecraft until the next one arrives, because the remaining docked spacecraft would need to have enough seats to accommodate all of NASA’s astronauts in the event of an emergency.
The stranded astronauts will replace two astronauts being pulled from the Dragon program and will stay on board the ISS until the end of the normal rotation in February 2025, which would mean extending a mission that was scheduled to last just over a week to eight months. The two astronauts have flown on longer missions to the ISS before, but with less uncertainty. Wilmore’s wife said: CBS At a train station in Knoxville, Tennessee, she said her husband Missing Christmas and the couple’s 30th wedding anniversary.