In a press release, officials from the American space agency stressed that the two are awaiting tests with the thrusters on the ground and should return safely
In a statement released last Friday (28), NASA officials were keen to inform that the two astronauts present in the International Space Station – Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – are not trapped there, although they are expected to remain there for the next few weeks.
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Steve Stich, coordinator of the American space agency’s Commercial Crew Program, said there is no rush for the return of the astronauts. Together with the company Boeingmanufacturer of the Starliner spacecraft that carried the two on the first manned mission of the line, the NASA plans ground tests to better understand thruster incidents early this month.
Starliner on the ISS
A Boeing’s Starliner capsulewas docked with the station on June 6 of this year, with the intention of leaving Williams and Wilmore to conduct tests for only 10 days. The docking delay, however, related to a thruster failure and a helium leak, showed that repairs and accident studies were needed to understand what happened and ensure a safe return to planet Earth.
Repairs carried out so far have left only one of the 27 thrusters on board inactive Starliner, which NASA says is more than enough for reentry, but the agency is still studying the case. After some delays in the return date, Friday’s statement said there is no prospect of a return until ground testing and analysis is carried out.
The first experiments with the propellants will be carried out next Tuesday at the White Sands Missile Test Range, in the US state of New Mexico (2). Initially, the Starliner had a 45 day limit to connect to the ISS due to its battery limitations, but Stich said they will be recharged at the station, which should extend the deadline.
NASA officials stressed that the Boeing spacecraft It works well and can also be used as a “life raft” to bring astronauts back to Earth immediately in an emergency. Ultimately, there is a plan B for the duo, which would be to return to the Crew Dragon spaceship SpaceX.
Source: NASA video
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Source: Terra
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