2024-12-18 22:17:00
NASA has done it again has postponed the return to Earth of Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams astronauts stranded on the international space station after Boeing’s Starliner capsule malfunctioned middle of this year.
The spacecraft crew arrived at the ISS in June. The goal was to test the Starliner’s extensive capabilities, including launch, docking and return systems. The mission would last a week. Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters failed to function before arriving at the ISS. Boeing claimed that its technology could guarantee the safe return of the astronauts. However, NASA expressed doubts and concluded that the risk was too high. The agency entrusted the task to SpaceX.
Elon Musk’s company launched the Crew-9 mission in September to bring back Williams and Wilmore, among others. Until now, that’s what the stuck astronauts were planning to do return in February aboard the Crew Dragon rocket. However, NASA has announced that it expects the expedition to return to Earth’s surface following the arrival of Crew-10, which will not be shipped until late March 2025 at the earliest.
The adjustment will allow SpaceX and NASA engineers to complete development of a new Dragon spacecraft, which will be shipped to the Florida factory early next month.
“Manufacturing, assembling, testing and ultimately integrating a new spacecraft is a painstaking undertaking that requires close attention to detail,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. “We appreciate the SpaceX team’s hard work to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the flight readiness of the new capsule.”
NASA said the crews of Crew-9 and Crew-10 will have to go through a “handover period,” during which the ISS residents share experiences and knowledge with the newcomers. This process ensures the proper conduct of scientific experiments on board and the maintenance of the orbital complex.
NASA and SpaceX specialists evaluated several options for coordinating the next crewed delivery. They determined that launching Crew-10 in March was the “best option to meet NASA’s requirements and achieve the space station’s 2025 goals,” according to an agency news release.
A long distance
The ISS underwent two resupply flights in November, ensuring crew members had sufficient food, water, clothing and oxygen. However, some experts have warned of possible health risks for Wilmore and Williams after spending more than nine months in space.
The scientific community has been studying the effects of spaceflight on the human body since the 1970s. In the years since the first moon landing it is has established circumstances such as loss of bone mass, weakened heart function, visual problems and the development of kidney stones.
This is evident from recent research by University College London reveals that the structure and function of the kidneys can also suffer permanent damage, although this is particularly aggressive in the case of astronauts who become too far from Earth, which is not the case on the ISS.
NASA points out that expedition crews to the ISS typically make longer stays, with an average duration of six months. It adds that some astronauts have carried out missions of up to one year to contribute to research into human adaptation to spaceflight, with a view to future explorations of the moon and Mars.
This story originally appeared on WIRED in Spanish and is translated from Spanish.
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