Washington. NASA and Boeing will give a new update on Wednesday about when Indian-American astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stuck in space for the past several days, will be able to return to Earth. Both of them have been on the International Space Station (ISS) since June 6.
The purpose of the Boeing Starliner mission is to carry astronauts and cargo to low Earth orbit for NASA’s future missions. The purpose of this space flight is also to prove that spacecraft can easily go to and come from the space station in a planned manner.
According to Indian time, at 10:30 pm, NASA and Boeing are going to meet in AAP to discuss the ongoing challenges with the Starliner spacecraft and possible strategies to bring the astronauts back to Earth safely, after which they will give information about it.
After docking with the ISS, the Starliner spacecraft encountered significant technical problems, including thrusters and helium leaks. These issues have prevented the spacecraft from returning astronauts to Earth as planned.
The Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT), which launched on June 5, was Boeing’s first attempt to use its new Starliner capsule to carry astronauts. The mission was part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which aims to expand access to low Earth orbit through partnerships with private industry. Despite a successful launch on a ULA Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, the mission ran into problems immediately. However, the spacecraft was later cleared for orbit after all the problems were fixed.
The US Space Agency has informed that Sunita Williams has maintained the record of doing the most spacewalks so far with a total of 50 hours and 40 minutes. Earlier, Peggy Whitson had surpassed her with 10 spacewalks. Sunita has also held the post of US Navy Captain and has spent a total of 322 days in space so far.
Tags: Nasa study, Space
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 14, 2024, 16:28 IST