Two astronauts stuck in space after Boeing Starliner spacecraft breaks down, with no date set for return

27 June 2024, 08:47

Two astronauts are stuck in space because their Boeing Starliner spacecraft is unable to come back to Earth.

Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams were supposed to stay in orbit for eight days after reaching the International Space Station, having blasted off from Earth on June 5.

But they remain in space, with the capsule suffering five helium leaks, five broken manoeuvring thrusters, as well as issues with a propellant valve.

This was the first crewed test of the Starliner capsule before it can be certified to use to make regular trips to the space station.

Nasa and Boeing have tried to bring the astronauts home three times, but now has no official date for the return. It has been reported that July 6 is now the unofficial date pencilled in for the next attempt.

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A Boeing spokesperson said they have “adjusted the return of Starliner crew flight test until after two planned spacewalks on Monday 24 June and Tuesday 2 July".

If that were the case, it would mean the astronauts would have been in space for a month, not just over a week as had been originally scheduled.

The astronauts have plenty of supplies, and have spent their time testing vital systems to make sure they are functioning correctly.

Their spacecraft can stay docked at the international space station for 45 days comfortably, but up to 72 days if it uses backup systems.

And if Nasa bosses decided that Starliner is incapable of bringing them home safely, they could bring them home on Crew Dragon capsule, which belongs to SpaceX, is also attached to the space station, and can fit more people in it in emergency cases.

Nothing suggests this would be needed, both Nasa and Boeing have said.

Boeing said: "The crew is not pressed for time to leave the station since there are plenty of supplies in orbit, and the station’s schedule is relatively open through mid-August".

Steve Stich, Nasa’s commercial crew program manager, told reporters: "We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process.

"We are letting the data drive our decision making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking."