The two astronauts who have been in space for over 60 days might need to stay there until early 2025 before returning to Earth. Their original mission to the International Space Station was only supposed to last eight days.
NASA also admitted that the astronauts, who arrived on the Boeing Starliner’s first crewed flight, might have to be brought back by the SpaceX CrewDragon. However, this spacecraft won’t be available until February.
During a news conference on Wednesday, NASA announced yet another delay in bringing Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth. The agency stated that they are now considering an alternative plan involving SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.
If upcoming tests reveal that returning on Starliner is too dangerous, Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said Wilmore and Williams would need to return on the Crew-9 flight in February 2025.
“We have been working with SpaceX to ensure they are ready to respond with Crew-9 as a contingency,” Stich said.
“We need to probably decide, likely in the middle of August, one path or the other to go ahead and meet the launch date for Crew-9,” he added.
The SpaceX mission was initially planned to launch on Aug. 18, assuming Starliner would have returned by then, but the flight is now postponed to Sept. 24.
The Crew-9 mission is a routine trip meant to bring four astronauts to replace the Crew-8 team on the International Space Station.
NASA stated that the Crew Dragon ship, typically carrying two to four passengers, can accommodate extra astronauts if required.
Although NASA is collaborating with SpaceX on this backup plan, they have not yet made a final decision on which shuttle will bring the astronauts home.
“We have not formally committed to this path, but we wanted to ensure we had all that flexibility in place,” Stich said.
Wilmore and Williams were scheduled to spend just eight days in space after launching aboard the Boeing Starliner on June 6, marking the spacecraft’s first crewed mission.
Once in space, the crew encountered troubling helium leaks and thruster issues, leaving NASA and Boeing scrambling for solutions.
If SpaceX, Boeing’s competitor, is chosen to bring the astronauts back, it could be another significant setback for the troubled aerospace company.
{Matzav.com}