The two astronauts were initially supposed to be in space for eight days – it may now be seven-months
Two astronauts trapped in space may be stranded until 2025.
It sounds like the synopsis of Hollywood blockbuster The Martian, but unfortunately for NASA’s Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams, there are no cuts – it is very much real life.
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NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Suni Williams have faced multiple malfunctions in their Boeing’s Starliner capsule. (NASA)
The couple were launched into space aboard the Boeing Starliner on June 5, and what was only supposed to be an eight day mission could turn into a seven-month nightmare.
Yes, they left the International Space Station (ISS) more than 60 days ago, and since then the crew has discovered worrying helium leaks and thruster failures.
Worrying to say the least – the capsule that they are in has experienced five helium leaks, five maneuvering thrusters go dead and a propellant valve fail to close completely.
Initially, it was feared that 61-year-old Wilmore and 58-year-old Williams only had at most 72 days to survive, but now it is understood that they could be trapped in out of this planet until 2025.
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Despite the barrage of malfunctions, NASA is confident Williams and Wilmore will return home. (NASA)
Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, has explained that if tests prove too risky to make the trip home on Starliner, they may be forced to return with SpaceX’s Crew-9 return flight.
However, this wouldn’t be ready until February.
Stich said: “We have been working with SpaceX to ensure they are ready to respond with Crew-9 as a contingency.
“We need to probably decide, likely in the middle of August, one path or the other to go ahead and meet the launch date for Crew-9.”
SpaceX’s mission was initially penned for take off on August 18, but delays mean it should now take off September 24.
“We have not formally committed to this path, but we wanted to ensure we had all that flexibility in place,” Stich said.
The Boeing CST-100 Staliner which Wilmore and Williams are trapped in space inside. (Gregg Newton / Gregg Newton / AFP) (Photo by GREGG NEWTON/Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images)
NASA’s engineers are currently testing spare thrusters in the New Mexico desert to try and understand what went wrong with the Starliner ahead of its docking.
Of the five thrusters that failed as it approached the space station on June 6, four have since been reactivated.
This was Boeing’s first ever test flight with a crew aboard.
The initial demo in 2019, which flew empty, never made it to the space station because of bad software.
They repeated the test in 2022, however, more issues arose.
The space agency’s competitor, billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk’s SpaceX, could well have to get Wilmore and Williams out of this sticky situation next year.