Nepotism. He's Maj. Tony Nelson's younger brother.
Posted on 08/30/2024 4:43:32 PM PDT by george76
After being stranded on the International Space Station since June, two astronaut castaways may still be months away from returning to Earth—in part because of incompatible space suits.
The two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, have had to extend what was supposed to be an eight-day trip on the ISS, because of a helium leak and thruster malfunctions on their Boeing-made Starliner spacecraft. NASA and Boeing are testing to see if it’s safe for the astronauts to return on the Boeing Starliner, but are also considering alternatives given the possible risks.
NASA has yet to make a decision, but one of those alternatives includes sending the astronauts home on a Dragon spacecraft, manufactured by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, that is already docked at the station, a representative from the space agency said during a press conference last week, Ars Technica reported.
Yet, that approach comes with complications, as explained by Swapna Krishna, the journalist behind the space-themed YouTube channel Ad Astra. If NASA chose that option, Wilmore and Williams would be the fifth and sixth astronauts on a spacecraft that’s limited to four passengers. And because their Starliner suits aren’t compatible with the Dragon spacecraft, they would have to return to Earth without suits on, which isn’t inherently dangerous, but offers them less protection in case something goes wrong with the capsule.
The differing suit designs and plugs for the Starliner and Dragon spacecraft comes down to a new process for commercial crewed space missions that NASA has implemented. Previously, NASA was extremely involved in the manufacture and testing of spacecraft and space suits.
Yet since the 2010s when NASA developed the commercial crew program, it has given private companies more freedom in how they develop and manufacture equipment for the agency, including space suits, as long as it meets broad safety requirements. For instance, NASA didn’t specify that space suits for each commercial spacecraft need to be cross-compatible with one another. In fact, having two different suit designs for each spacecraft could also be beneficial, according to Krishna.
“If the suits used the same type of plug, and some sort of flaw was found within that plug or some other sort of standardized connector, it would ground both spacecraft,” she said in a Sunday video.
A spokesperson for Boeing referred a request for comment to NASA. NASA and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. NASA has said the astronauts are not “stranded” on the ISS.
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Another alternative is sending the astronauts home on a different Dragon spacecraft that’s set to reach the ISS in September. This ship could reach the space station with only two of its usual four crew members and could send up extra (Dragon-compatible) space suits, which would allow Wilmore and Williams to return to Earth fully suited in the two unfilled seats.
But if NASA chose this alternative, the Starliner ship that the astronauts originally flew in would have to undock and return to Earth autonomously to make room for the Dragon spacecraft arriving in September, and Boeing has said it might not be able to do that. Because of the way Boeing’s contract with NASA is structured, the company has had to absorb the extra costs associated with the technical failures of its Starliner. The company has already taken about $1.6 billion in charges on its Starliner program.
If the Starliner left the space station without a crew, the astronauts on the ISS would also have to install two extra seats on the remaining Dragon spacecraft until the next Dragon arrives, because the remaining docked ship must provide enough seats to accommodate all of the NASA astronauts in case of an emergency.
The marooned astronauts would need to take the place of the two astronauts pulled from the Dragon mission to accommodate them, which would keep them aboard the ISS until the regular rotation ends in February 2025. That would mean turning what was supposed to be just over a weeklong mission into eight months. Although both astronauts have completed longer missions on the ISS before, those were filled with less uncertainty. Wilmore’s wife told a CBS station in Knoxville that she is preparing for her husband to miss Christmas and the couple’s 30th wedding anniversary.
Maybe but it is a part. Maybe a big part of excessive cost to operate that will sink the effort to get widespread adoption and future sales. That seems short sighted.
I am interested in a gas electric hybrid, never a plug in electric only. And I want the lower cost of replacing the gas electric hybrid battery when it needs it.
Back in the 1960’s we had actual engineers with a slide rule that could fix this and even use duct tape if necessary.
Kind of reminds me of how years ago, the gauges of the wheels on Europe's rail systems differed from country to country. They would have to pull a train off on a side track, take off the set of wheels whose gauge couldn't run on the other country's track system, and replace them with ones that would.
Another possible solution: modify two seats in the Dragon capsule for the Starliner suits. I’m sure Musk wouldn’t mind doing it.
1. They are stranded, actually.
2. Boeing has lissed away 2 billion and the govt gave it to them because they weren’t SpaceX/Musk.
3. This occurred because of politics and a president disliking a particular entrepreneur.
The lack of standardization was deliberate in this case. NASA wanted two distinct families of space vehicles with two different spacesuit designs, the thinking being that a flaw that emerged in a unitary spacesuit design would not ground both types of vehicles. The flip side to that philosophy is the predicament they’re in now.
so send extra suits!!! or make some damn Dongles that can mate the two systems
Thanks for the info on how NASA's decisions haven't always been sound or good. I just hope they can get these people back home ASAP.
“Fer crissake, even the Russians made their aircraft fuel fittings compatible with US stuff.”
I am so happy someone decied to make standardized batteries
AAA AA, C, D, 9v.
today every electronic device phone or camera has a proprietary size and it sucks.
yeah there are 18650 batteries but there are also a ton of other random sizes too.
So annoying
Can you imagine if every manufacturer had proprietary plugs on their devices and you had to buy an adapter to plug them into a wall outlet ?
That is certainly the only place that people like that could find a job.
Both worn by humans, what is incompatible?
This is life support equipment, not designer clothes.
Wasn’t just Europe. We did the same thing.
I had heard last week suits were being sent up. Lag in news, I guess.
You would think they would have been smart enough to make an adapter for each to the other.
Good Grief! 😣
Maybe Putin can save them? Send em some Russian suits to wear?
Space travel was easier when Buck Rogers did it.
“Send some suits up for them on the Dragon.”
i read that one dragon suit had already been sent up ....
Wow, I honestly didn’t know about that. Thank you.
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