NASA have denied that astronauts Suni Williams and Bruce Wilmore are stranded after they spent seven weeks in space on the Starliner as part of a mission that was barely meant to last a week.
Now, a retired astronaut speaking anonymously has admitted that Williams and Wilmore must be stranded. “Of course [NASA] don’t feel comfortable putting them in the [return] vehicle,” he said.
A Rocky Recent History For NASA
The Starliner went into space without a crew in 2019, but failed to reach the International Space Station (ISS) and suffered a software glitch.
Following the 2019 incident, NASA admitted their oversight of the mission, which had been a collaboration with Boeing, was “insufficient”.
Starliner’s Problems Persist
In the days before this year’s Starliner launched with Williams and Wilmore aboard, helium leaks emerged on the spacecraft. The issues were initially patched up but re-emerged post-lift-off.
Now, weeks after Wilmore and Williams’ planned return, the duo remain stuck in space as NASA and Boeing conduct ground tests to evaluate the causes of the spacecraft’s ongoing problems.
Is The Starliner Ready To Return To Earth?
Steve Stich, the manager of NASA’s commercial-crew program, was recently asked if more testing needed to be done before Williams and Wilmore could return.
In response, Stich failed to give a straightforward yes or no answer and instead said NASA wanted to continue testing rather than “commit to undocking and landing.”
NASA Face Backlash
Marina Koren, of The Atlantic, writes, “NASA owes the public as much transparency as possible: It is a taxpayer-funded agency, and a few billion dollars of its budget have gone directly into the Starliner program.”
Meanwhile, Lori Garver, a former deputy NASA administrator, said, “It is discouraging that NASA appears more focused on shaping the story than on their mandate to provide unfettered information to taxpayers.”
Limited Fuel Supplies Spark Fear
The Starliner had originally been limited to spending 45 days in space due to estimates of the spacecraft’s limited fuel supply. However, the Starliner has now exceeded this limit.
In recent weeks, the Starliner has outperformed fuel expectations and is now rated to spend 90 days in space – meaning it can stay there until September 3rd.
Astronauts May Need To Be Rescued
“It’s clear NASA does not want to deviate from its base plan of using Starliner to come home, and this remains most likely,” said Eric Berger of Ars Technica.
“But it is not certain. SpaceX and NASA have been quietly studying launching Crew-9 two astronauts. Suits are available for Butch and Suni,” he added.
NASA Say Progress Has Been Made
NASA has reportedly made progress during ground tests, but the agency is still unwilling to commit to a return date for Williams and Wilmore.
Stich said in a press conference, “we’re making great progress, but we’re just not quite ready” to give a return date.
Meet The Crew
Barry E. Wilmore, one of the two astronauts aboard the Starliner, previously piloted NASA’s 2009 STS-129 mission and returned to space once again in September 2014 as part of Expedition 41/42.
Meanwhile, pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams, began training as an astronaut in 1998 and was launched into space in 2006 via NASA’s STS-116 mission. This latest Boeing mission made Williams the first woman to pilot a spacecraft on its maiden test flight.
Stranded Astronaut Remains Optimistic
In a recent video, Williams said, “I feel confident that if we had to, if there was a problem with the International Space Station, we can get in our spacecraft and we can dock, talk to our team and figure out the best way to come home.”
She added, “like I’ve said, we’ve practiced a lot, so I have a … real good feeling in my heart that this spacecraft will bring us home.”
