WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - NASA expects to decide by the end of August how to return two U.S. astronauts, who are currently stuck on board the International Space Station as part of its Boeing Crew Flight Test, to earth.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been living and working aboard the station since docking on June 6, contributing to the expedition crew's research and maintenance activities, while helping ground teams collect critical data for long-duration Starliner flights to the orbiting complex.
The astronauts were supposed to return to earth on June 14, but after encountering technical issues, it has been delayed.
The mission was meant to last eight days. However, as the capsule's thrusters malfunctioned and helium leaked as Starliner docked with the ISS, NASA decided not to fly the spacecraft back to Earth until the problems were solved or at least better understood. Wilmore and Williams remain aboard the ISS, 2 months and 16 days after their launch.
In its latest update, NASA's Office of Communications said the U.S space agency now plans to conduct two reviews - a Program Control Board and an Agency Flight Readiness Review - before deciding how it will safely return Wilmore and Williams from the station: on Starliner or on a SpaceX Dragon capsule with the Boeing spacecraft returning uncrewed.
'NASA expects to decide on the path forward by the end of August,' it said.
Starliner remains the primary option for Wilmore and Williams if an emergency occurs and they need to rapidly depart the station. NASA says there is no urgent need to bring them home, and it is using the extra time to understand the spacecraft's technical issues before deciding on a return plan.
If NASA decides to return Starliner uncrewed, the two astronauts would remain aboard the space station until late-February, 2025.
NASA said it is also seeking an option of sending only two crew members instead of four when launching the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission in late September. In that case, Wilmore and Williams would return to Earth after the regularly scheduled Crew-9 increment early next year.
The former Navy test pilots are the first to launch aboard Starliner to the space station as part of the U.S space agency's Commercial Crew Program.
The Program aims for safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities.
The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and to Mars.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
