NASA has announced that astronauts stranded on the International Space Station will once again have to postpone their return to Earth. Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams were scheduled to launch to the ISS in June and spend just one week there. It turns out they won't be returning home until the end of March. The reason is the delay in the release of the new capsule.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams began a mission in June that was supposed to last just one week. However, the return was initially postponed to February 2025 due to technical problems with the Starliner, an experimental spacecraft manufactured by Boeing.
It has now been revealed that due to a delay in the launch of a new capsule to the ISS, the pair will not return until late March or even April. NASA says the delay is not a threat to astronauts.
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“The International Space Station received two resupply flights in November and is fully stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing, and oxygen. They were also carrying special items to celebrate the holiday,'' the statement said.
Astronauts are trapped on the International Space Station. Return has been postponed
According to the BBC, most missions on the space station last six months, but some last a year. The Open University's Dr Simeon Barber said extending Wilmore and Williams' already long stays would not be a big problem.
– I think they are already disappointed that they won't be able to spend Christmas at home with their families. “But with only two months left on what is already a pretty long mission, if you ask them, they'll definitely tell you that the space station is their favorite place,” he said.
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A new crew of four must be launched to the ISS before Wilmore and Williams can return to Earth. In addition to Butch and Sunni, the crewed capsule also includes NASA astronaut Nick Haig and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, who are participating in the mission as part of normal crew rotation. will also return.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is delaying preparation of its latest Dragon capsule for this mission. As a result, NASA said it is considering using another of its capsules to transport replacement crew members in order to keep the flight on schedule.
But now she decides the best option is to wait until a new capsule carries the next crew.
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