Posted on 08/30/2024 12:07:41 PM PDT by george76
NASA on Friday cut two astronauts from the next crew to make room on the return trip for the two stuck at the International Space Station.
NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch in September aboard a SpaceX rocket for the orbiting laboratory. The duo will return with Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in February. NASA decided it’s too risky for Williams and Wilmore to fly home in their Boeing Starliner capsule, marred by thruster troubles and helium leaks.
Bumped from the SpaceX flight: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson. NASA said they could fly on future missions.
...
After the shuttles retired, the U.S. relied on Russia to ferry crews to the space station until SpaceX began taking astronauts in 2020. The two countries have continued to trade seats. Next month, NASA’s Don Pettit will be launching to the space station while NASA’s Tracy Dyson will be returning to Earth on Russian capsules.
NASA turned to private businesses a decade ago, wanting two competing U.S. companies ferrying astronauts in the post-shuttle era.
Williams and Wilmore were Boeing’s first crew, arriving at the space station in June for what was supposed to be a weeklong stay. Their capsule will return empty as early as next Friday, aiming for a touchdown in the New Mexico desert.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
NASA cuts 2 from next Starliner flight.
Brought to you by DEI + Boeing.
Has Boeing managed to upload, install and test the software in the docked Skyliner that allows it to autonmously undock and maneuver to return to Earth, rather than to accidentally crash into the ISS?
Kicking the two women (Zena and Stephanie) off the mission to make room for the stranded astronauts? Guess this is what you do when the back of the bus is full...
Boeing is “winging it”.
Nothing could possibly go wrong...
wrong...
wrong...
wrong...
:-)
I freely admit that I know nothing about long-term planning of ISS missions, crewing needs and supplies, etc, but......
Why could not those two astronauts being “bumped” just go up one-way instead, and stay to perform future mission experiments, etc at the station and come back later? Heck, can’t Elon send a Dragon mission up unmanned, if necessary, and those two fly it home? Or are only certain crew capable of being the commander on a flight?
Boeing makes the best space junk.
8 day cruise by a DEI company!
NICE LEAD IN FOR THE ELECTION.
MUSK TO THE RESCUE
Safety factor. There has to be enough spaces for everyone to be able to bail out of the ISS in case of an emergency. While NASA is currently saying that in an emergency, the two Starliner crew could just go back in the Starliner and ride that one home, nobody really wants to do that right now despite NASA and Boeing claims. Additionally, in order for the Crew Dragon to dock, the Starliner is going to have to be evicted from the docking port - so there won’t be an accessible ship for them to get to in order to evacuate and there won’t be space on the Soyuz lifeboat either. There will be two people who won’t fit on any ship docked to the station in an emergency evacuation in that case and nobody thinks that’s a good idea.
That and there are a limited berthing spaces available.
Thank you for your thoughtful and informative reply. I learn more on this forum than in years of formal schooling.
Sharing is caring.
Boeing spacesuits are not compatible with SpaceX..
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4261836/posts
If astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were to hitch a ride back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, they would need new spacesuits.
https://qz.com/boeing-starliner-astronauts-stranded-spacex-spacesuits-1851628060
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket can return to flight, FAA says
https://www.space.com/faa-approves-spacex-falcon-9-return-to-flight-august-2024
New spacesuits are being dispatched, actually.
That's the plan.
That's the plan.
Well, that's the revised plan. The plan was for a 8-day stay on the ISS before returning to Earth on the Starliner.
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