Stranded in space Astronauts will be stuck on the ISS for months to come

Eight days in space will become eight months: the US space agency NASA does not want to bring two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station ISS back to Earth until February.

Keystone-SDA

24.08.2024, 20:48

24.08.2024, 22:19

SDA

Nasa announced on Saturday that the astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been on the ISS since June due to technical problems with Boeing's Starliner space capsule, are to return to Earth in February in a SpaceX Dragon space capsule.

"Nasa has decided that Butch and Suni will return with Crew-9 next February and that the Starliner will return unmanned," said Nasa chief Bill Nelson.

Four astronauts on ISS

The Starliner has been docked at the ISS since the beginning of June due to problems with its thrusters - the capsule was actually only supposed to stay there for eight days. Helium leaks also occurred on the capsule during the flight to the space station. As the problems have not yet been resolved, Wilmore and Williams are now returning to Earth in the Space-X Dragon capsule instead of their Boeing capsule as planned.

There are currently a total of six astronauts in the ISS - the regular four crew members of the space station and the two Starliner astronauts. The Dragon capsule was actually supposed to take a new four-person crew to the ISS on Sunday last week and transport the previous four crew members back. However, this flight has now been postponed until the end of September. On the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, there will only be two astronauts on board instead of four, so that the two Starliner astronauts can be taken along on the return flight in February.

Also a helium leak

The Starliner project has been plagued by technical problems for years, causing Boeing to fall behind SpaceX. In 2014, NASA signed contracts worth billions with both companies for transportation to the ISS. However, while SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by tech multi-billionaire Elon Musk, has been transporting astronauts to the ISS and back since 2020, Boeing only managed its first manned flight to the space station last June - where the Starliner is now stuck.

When the Boeing capsule docked, there were problems with the thrusters, which are needed for precise maneuvering. There had previously been a helium leak before the Starliner was launched. However, this was deemed to be so minor that the launch went ahead after all. However, further leaks occurred during the flight.