Nasa astronauts stranded in space to return to earth next February via SpaceX
Nasa has announced how it will return the two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS).
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were left stuck in space after riding a faulty Boeing capsule into orbit around two months ago.
They were meant to meant to stay in orbit for eight days after docking on the ISS, however, issues with the spacecraft’s propulsion system mean the astronauts’ return home has been constantly delayed.
Nasa has now announced that the pair will be brought back home on a SpaceX next year.
However, because of scheduling, a trip home will not be able to happen for quite some time and the pair must wait until February 2025 to return back to Earth on Elon Musk’s capsule.
At a press conference today, Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said that the space agency does not have faith in Boeing’s Starliner capsule, and a manned flight would be too dangerous.
“Spaceflight is risky,” he said. “Even at its safest, and even at its most routine. A test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine.”
Associate administrator Jim Free then chimed in: “The uncertainty in our [technological] margins is what drove our decision.”
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Williams and Wilmore will stay on the ISS until the SpaceX ship arrives, in a move reflecting Nasa’s “commitment to safety”, whilst Starliner will now return to Earth unmanned.
“Our core value is safety and it is our North Star,” Nelson said.
“Nasa has decided that Butch and Sunny will return with crew nine next February, and that Starliner will return uncrewed.”
He continued: “I want you to know that Boeing has worked very hard with NASA to get the necessary data to make this decision. We want to further understand the root causes and understand the design improvements so that the Boeing Starliner will serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS.”
The astronauts were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after spending no more than a week on the ISS.
Thruster failures and helium leaks led experts to keep them in orbit for longer over fears a trip back on the spacecraft could end in disaster.
Boeing’s Starliner manager Mark Nappi had earlier described the error-prone helium system as “manageable” despite “not working like we designed it”.
“So we’ve got to go figure that out,” he said.