The exact date of the Return to the Earth of the American astronauts of Butcha Wilmore and Sunit Williams, who have been forced to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) since the beginning of June due to shuttle breakdowns, has not yet been determined.
This was announced at a press conference by the head of the space operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Space Studies (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA) Ken Bauerschos.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore was expected to spend several days in space, but the problems with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft mean that they may return no earlier than next year.
The decision on whether the astronauts will remain Butch Wilmore and Sunit Williams on the ISS to the SpaceX expedition in February 2025, will be accepted for several weeks, he said.
Bauersoks also reported the absence of a decision about whether to return Boeing’s broken spacecraft to Earth empty or not.
According to him, NASA intends to analyze more data before making a decision. “We have time until Starliner returned home, and we want to use it wisely,” said Ken Bauersoks.
In NASA, they also consider another option for saving astronauts, in which they will have to stay in space until February next year to return home on the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
The first spacecraft of Boeing Starliner was successfully launched into space on June 5, 2024, and the next day he was attached to the International Space Station (ISS). It was assumed that American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will stay in orbit for only a week and return to the ground on the same device.
However, the Starliner propagation was postponed four times due to faulty engines, and then due to a series of small gel leaks.