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Astronauts stranded in space due to multiple issues with Boeing's Starliner — and the window for a return flight is closing
Live Science ^ | 6/24/24 | Ben Turner

Posted on 06/24/2024 7:41:11 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom

Editor's note: NASA announced on Friday that Starliner's troubleshooting has been extended for a third time, meaning that the astronauts will stay aboard the International Space Station indefinitely until some time in July.


Two NASA astronauts who rode to orbit on Boeing's Starliner are stranded in space aboard the ISS after engineers discovered numerous issues with the Boeing spacecraft. Teams on the ground are now racing to assess Starliner's status.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after a week on the ISS, but their stay has been extended for a third time due to the ongoing issues.

...Boeing's Starliner capsule successfully blasted off...on June 5. But during the 25-hour flight, engineers discovered five separate helium leaks to the spacecraft's thruster system.

...to give engineers time to troubleshoot the faults, NASA has announced it will push back the perilous return flight, extending the crew's stay on the space station to at least three weeks.

"We've learned that our helium system is not performing as designed," Mark Nappi, Boeing's Starliner program manager, said at a news conference on June 18. "Albeit manageable, it's still not working like we designed it. So we've got to go figure that out."

...NASA and Boeing engineers assess the vital hardware issues aboard the vessel, including five helium leaks to the system that pressurizes the spacecraft's propulsion system, and five thruster failures to its reaction-control system.

After powering the thrusters up on June 15, engineers found that most of these issues appeared to be at least partially resolved, but their exact causes remain unknown. However, the Harmony module's limited fuel means Starliner can only stay docked for 45 days, so the window for a safe return flight is narrowing.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: affirmativeaction; astronauts; astronautsstranded; boeing; dei; die; diversity; nasa; oops; starliner; stranded; woke
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To: Magnum44

Sarah Conner worked there.


41 posted on 06/24/2024 8:15:23 AM PDT by Lazamataz (Trump's experience? We're next.)
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To: Eccl 10:2

They moved to Chicago when we lived there......didn’t take long for them to move out!!


42 posted on 06/24/2024 8:15:52 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion....... The HUMAN Sacrifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Helium is by its very nature a very leaky element. If they have multiple leaks I highly doubt that the astronauts are coming home on Boeing. That helium is going to be gone before they know it.


43 posted on 06/24/2024 8:15:58 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck (He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.)
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To: PGR88

When you have all white guys you know every job was filled based on merit.

These days everyone else is suspect—not their fault, just the way it is.


44 posted on 06/24/2024 8:16:25 AM PDT by cgbg ("Our democracy" = Their Kleptocracy)
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To: All

45 posted on 06/24/2024 8:18:45 AM PDT by BipolarBob (I was drowning in self pity until I bathed in the refreshing Lake of Respect.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

We need to call international rescue The Tracy’s can do it


46 posted on 06/24/2024 8:19:17 AM PDT by al baby (I know sarcasm )
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To: PGR88
"Gone are the days of white guys with buzz-cuts, in white shirts with pocket protectors and black ties managing the space program"

You have to watch the movie "Falling Down."


47 posted on 06/24/2024 8:23:06 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck (He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.)
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To: PGR88

Don’t forget half-sleeved white shirts!


48 posted on 06/24/2024 8:25:09 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: Lazamataz
Write those astronauts off. They are as good as dead.

Sometimes they live in the "afterlife". Vote dem too.

Here we go again, another Morton Thiokol moment for the US of A.

49 posted on 06/24/2024 8:30:21 AM PDT by C210N (Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.)
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To: nwrep

From the Bee

https://youtu.be/bkj5A7B52Bk


50 posted on 06/24/2024 8:34:29 AM PDT by hanamizu ( )
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To: algore
And people still believe that we were able to put men on the moon and bring them back safely back in 1969...

But, but... we'd certainly go back (with 1960's tech), but we lost... the.... tech. Sorry, can't find it. Sorry, can't recreate it.

Three words come to mind, I think it likely you and I are familiar with: Van Allen Belts.

51 posted on 06/24/2024 8:35:11 AM PDT by C210N (Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Probably wasn’t ready for launch yet - but Biden needed a headline. Guess he got one…


52 posted on 06/24/2024 8:39:28 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: Lazamataz; All
Their July demise will coincide with the release of "Fly Me To The Moon"! What a coinkydink!!

It's ALL theater folks!

FLY ME TO THE MOON - Official Trailer (HD)

53 posted on 06/24/2024 8:40:50 AM PDT by C210N (Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
the astronauts will stay aboard the International Space Station indefinitely until some time in July.

In mathematics, a limit is the value that a function (or sequence) approaches as the input (or index) approaches some value.[1] Limits are essential to calculus and mathematical analysis, and are used to define continuity, derivatives, and integrals.

>>>

The concept of a limit of a sequence is further generalized to the concept of a limit of a topological net, and is closely related to limit and direct limit in category theory.

The limit inferior and limit superior provide generalizations of the concept of a limit which are particularly relevant when the limit at a point may not exist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limit_(mathematics)


54 posted on 06/24/2024 8:42:20 AM PDT by Ezekiel (🆘️ "Come fly with US". 🔴 Ingenuity -- because the Son of David begins with MARS ♂️, aka every man)
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To: wildcard_redneck
What they've said: They have 70 hours' worth of helium at current leak rates, they only need 7 hours' worth to get home, the "70 hours" clock only starts when open the thruster valves in preparation for undocking from ISS. All the leaks are in the service module, which burns up on re-entry, so they need to collect all the info they can before re-entry destroys the evidence of the "crime" (so to speak).

The delta between "what they've said" and the truth? I don't know. I've read that (if they ignore certain safety protocols), the astronauts could stowaway on the current CrewDragon that's up there and get home that way. There's no reason to attempt the trip home in Starliner if it's clearly not able to make the trip safely.

55 posted on 06/24/2024 8:48:57 AM PDT by Campion (Everything is a grace, everything is the direct effect of our Father's love - Little Flower)
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To: Lazamataz

They are as good as dead.
_______________

Oh no, somebody can always take them down to Earth.
Musk or Russians.
But they may have to stay there for a while!


56 posted on 06/24/2024 8:49:41 AM PDT by AZJeep
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

If they’re stranded they’re no longer “astronauts,” now they’re just “space bums.”


57 posted on 06/24/2024 8:50:42 AM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: Campion

After the murder of a Boeing whistleblower do you really think Boeing would not risk the potential death of the astronauts?


58 posted on 06/24/2024 8:56:53 AM PDT by wildcard_redneck (He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.)
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To: Lazamataz

“They are as good as dead.”

Nah. Musk will save them.


59 posted on 06/24/2024 8:58:15 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“When exposing a crime is treated like a crime, you are being ruled by criminals” – Edward Snowden)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

He may have to do that hope the make it back.


60 posted on 06/24/2024 9:01:32 AM PDT by Vaduz
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