Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who went into space with the space shuttle of Boeing, the American aviation company famous for its malfunctioning aircraft, have been waiting in a zero-gravity environment since the beginning of June. The world, as well as the astronauts, are waiting for NASA to make a decision. According to the statement from NASA, there is no rush to make a decision.
DATE: UNCERTAIN
NASA made a statement regarding the return to Earth of two astronauts who were originally sent to the space station for two weeks but have been stranded there since early June due to the malfunction of Boeing’s Starliner shuttle. Speaking at the press conference, NASA’s space operations mission manager Ken Bowersox announced that there is no definite date for the astronauts’ return.
DECISION WILL BE MADE WEEKS LATER
Bowersox said a decision on whether astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain at the International Space Station until SpaceX’s February 2025 expedition will be made within a few weeks.
Bowersox also said that no decision has yet been reached on whether to allow the malfunctioning Boeing shuttle to return to Earth empty.
“WE HAVE STILL TIME”
“We have time to bring Starliner home, and we want to use that time wisely,” Bowersox said, adding that they will analyze more data before making a decision.
‘TWO VACANT SEATS’ FORMULA
Apart from the option of waiting for the problem with the Starliner shuttle to be fixed, the possibility of sending two empty seats instead of four astronauts on SpaceX’s February 2025 expedition and bringing Wilmore and Williams back with this shuttle is among the options being considered to save the astronauts.
SPACE TRIP POSTPONED TWICE: FAILURE OCCURS ON THE THIRD TIME
After two delays, Boeing sent the Starliner shuttle carrying two NASA astronauts into space for the first time on June 5. Despite the examinations conducted on the Starliner shuttle, which was detected to have a helium leak, the source of the problem could not be found and its return to Earth was delayed four times.
NASA astronauts are scheduled to spend a week at the space station, and there is no clarity yet on the return date and how they will return. (AA)