Posted on 07/11/2024 4:55:08 AM PDT by Salman
A pair of US astronauts stuck waiting to leave the International Space Station said Wednesday they were confident that the problem-plagued Boeing Starliner they rode up on would soon bring them home, even as significant uncertainties remain.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off on June 5 aboard the brand new spaceship that NASA is hoping to certify to ferry crews to-and-from the orbital outpost.
They docked the following day for what was meant to be roughly a week-long stay, but their return was pushed back because of thruster malfunctions and helium leaks that came to light during the journey.
No date has been set for the return, but NASA officials said Wednesday they were eying "late July."
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(Excerpt) Read more at spacedaily.com ...
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"The prime option today is to return Butch and Suni on Starliner," said Stich, while conceding that a return flight on a SpaceX spaceship can't be ruled out.
In 2014, both SpaceX and Boeing were awarded multibillion-dollar contracts by NASA to develop crewed spaceships after the retirement of the Space Shuttle program. SpaceX carried out a successful crewed test in 2020 and has flown dozens of people since.
Does anyone know what their food reserves are?
NASA is under seige by DEI.
Now we see the results.
Elon Musk to the rescue!
Ironman, this is Keith
I wonder if they had any trouble docking on the way TO the station?
If Musk has to rescue them it will not be good.
Is there more than one docking port on the ISS?
Will they have to abandon the capsule and toss it into the ocean?
‘Starleaker’ may end up being space debris.
Now I REALLY want to travel to Mars. /sarc
They can put the two extra astronauts on port and starboard duty talking to kids on ham circuits.
Of what year? 2024? 2025?
Two words: Donner party.
If we only had our 1960s technology and those black ladies to do all the math, the astronauts would be home by now!
I saw them pass by directly overhead a couple of evenings ago. If I go outside to look for satellites on a clear evening, I see as many as 15-20 in an hour’s time. But then you see that bright, elongated shine of the ISS. Very cool.
Yeah, I’ll bet they really ARE confident they are going to get back. Deep in their hearts, they might be thinking they are toast.
The “quiet part” is that NASA/Boeing still doesn’t know how to fix it, or if it can be fixed.
“Two words: Donner party.”
LOLOLOL!!!
“If it’s Boeing, I’m not going!”
Wouldn’t it be ironic if they are still up there the week before Election Day, and Biden’s handlers find themselves making a deal with the Russians: Go up to the ISS and get our astronauts back home, and Ukraine is yours.
This is the prisoner of war stage right now.
Say what NASA tells you to say or you definitely get stranded.
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