NASA says astronauts stranded on the Worldwide Area Station must wait longer to get dwelling.
Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams have been set to return only one week after they blew up in June.
Their keep was prolonged till February of the next 12 months as a result of technical issues with the Starliner, an experimental spacecraft constructed by Boeing.
Now – after a delay in launching a brand new capsule to the ISS – the pair will not return till late March or presumably April.
NASA stated the delay poses no threat to astronauts.
In an announcement, NASA stated: “The Worldwide Area Station lately obtained two resupply flights in November and is absolutely stocked with all of the crew’s wants, together with meals, water, clothes and oxygen. The resupply spacecraft Additionally included are particular gadgets for the crew. Have a trip on the orbital platform.”
Most area station missions final six months, with some reaching a full 12 months. In keeping with Dr Simeon Barber of the Open College, a rise within the already overdue keep in Butch and Sunny’s area ought to due to this fact not be an issue.
“I am positive they’re already upset that they’ll miss Christmas again dwelling with the fellows. However it’s solely two months on an extended sufficient mission already, and I am positive in the event you ask them , so am I. Certain they’re going to inform you the area station is the place they like to be,” he stated.
In keeping with the area company, a brand new crew must be launched earlier than Wilmore and Williams can return, and the subsequent mission is being delayed by greater than a month.
NASA’s subsequent crew of 4 to the ISS was scheduled to launch in February 2025. The capsule carrying that crew was to deliver Butch and Sunny dwelling, together with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov as a part of the mission. Regular crew rotation.
However private-sector agency SpaceX’s growth of an all-new Dragon capsule for the mission has been delayed. It’s now scheduled to be prepared for flight earlier than the tip of March.
NASA stated it thought of utilizing a separate SpaceX capsule to fly a alternative crew to maintain the flights on schedule.
However now it has determined that the best choice is to attend for a brand new capsule to hold the subsequent crew.
