For eight months Astronauts are stuck on the ISS
Due to technical problems, US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will have to stay on the ISS eight months longer than planned. They are due to return in February 2025.
14.09.2024, 07:11
14.09.2024, 07:39
SDA
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Astronauts Wilmore and Williams were unable to return to Earth as planned due to technical problems with the Starliner capsule.
- Problems with the thrusters and helium leaks meant that NASA had to postpone their return.
- The astronauts now have to stay on the ISS for eight months longer.
The US astronauts Wilmore and Williams docked with the US aerospace company Boeing's Starliner space capsule at the ISS on July 6 and were supposed to return to Earth eight days later. It was the first manned flight of the space capsule, which had been delayed for years due to technical difficulties.
During docking with the ISS, however, problems occurred with the capsule's thrusters, which are needed for precise maneuvering. In addition, helium leaks were discovered before the launch and during the flight.
They would have needed more time
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), said they had run out of time. With "more time" they could have returned to Earth as originally planned, Wilmore was convinced.
"I think we could have gotten to the point where we could have returned aboard the Starliner, but we ran out of time," Wilmore said at a press conference broadcast live from the ISS on Friday. The original plan was for him and his colleague Williams to return to Earth on board the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
"If we'd had a little more time, we could have made it," he said. However, the requirements on board the ISS, in particular the rotation of the crew, would not have allowed us to "wait any longer to make a decision".
Return in February
The Boeing Group, whose reputation has suffered considerably as a result of numerous incidents involving its airliners, did try to convince the US space agency Nasa of the safety of the capsule. However, NASA decided to have the two astronauts brought back to Earth in the Dragon space capsule of tech billionaire Elon Musk's rival company SpaceX - but not until February 2025.
Wilmore and Williams will now have to stay in space eight months longer than originally planned. The Starliner space capsule that broke down successfully returned to Earth last week - without astronauts on board.
