Sunita Williams’ Boeing Starliner space mission will likely be extended by another 45 days. Amid growing tensions over NASA’s space mission due to frequent delays, the US space agency has shared good news. The US space agency said last week that the spacecraft is in very good condition and can remain in orbit for more than 45 days.
Sunita Williams’ space mission
The spacecraft carrying Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore was launched on June 5. The launch of the Boeing spacecraft faced several glitches before the launch and was delayed several times. Now, the space launch, which was initially scheduled for a week’s duration, has been extended by two months as it was forced to dock at the International Space Station (ISS) due to a helium leak from its service module.
NASA update on Sunita Williams mission
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, briefed reporters on the status and performance of the Boeing Starliner’s crew module batteries during a press conference.
“We talked about a 45-day limit, which is limited by the crew module batteries on Starliner, and we’re in the process of updating that limit,” Steve Stich told reporters. He added that the team is looking at those batteries and their performance on orbit.
Boeing Starliner space mission delayed
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich announced that the Boeing Starliner’s mission could be delayed from 45 days to 90 days, ANI reported quoting CNN.
Officials have repeatedly indicated that the Starliner, which faced problems including a helium leak and thruster outage while headed to the International Space Station in early June, would be safe to bring home the astronauts, including Indian-origin Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore.
On Friday, Stich said NASA is considering extending the maximum duration of the Starliner mission from 45 days to 90 days and that no specific return date has been set yet, CNN reported.
Addressing a briefing on Friday, the NASA official said, “We are just looking at the timeline to execute (the test in New Mexico) and then review the data.” He added, “And that is the biggest challenge, which will determine the landing date.”
“We’re in no hurry to get home,” Stich said.
Part of the desired extension is due to ground tests to be conducted by Boeing and NASA in New Mexico aimed at better understanding why some of the Starliner’s thrusters failed unexpectedly during the first phase of its journey.
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Published: July 04, 2024, 02:45 PM IST
