Space travel "Starliner" problems: Nasa makes way for ISS mission
The two astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson will not fly to the International Space Station on a mission at the end of September as planned. The US space agency Nasa is thus making room for two stranded astronauts.
30.08.2024, 23:38
SDA
Due to technical problems with the "Starliner" spacecraft, Nasa has to bring astronaut Suni Williams and her colleague Barry Wilmore back to Earth with an alternative plan. It has therefore now announced that Cardman and Wilson will not fly to the International Space Station (ISS) on the "Dragon" spacecraft as planned.
Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to return in February 2025. Astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov are still on board for the flight to the outpost of humanity 400 kilometers above Earth. Cardman and Wilson will be considered for future missions, according to Nasa.
Odyssey in space
The two "Starliner" astronauts Williams and Wilmore were actually only supposed to spend a week on board the ISS after the first manned launch of the crisis-ridden spacecraft from the US company Boeing at the beginning of June - now it is likely to be more than eight months.
Nasa boss Bill Nelson justified the decision with safety concerns to send the crisis-ridden "Starliner" back to Earth with a crew, as technical problems occurred after the launch - including problems with the engines and helium leaks. Since then, the two astronauts have been stuck on the space station. The Starliner, which is still docked at the ISS, is due to make its way back to Earth without a crew on the night of September 6-7.
