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NASA officials admitted today that they don’t know when the crew of the malfunctioning Starliner spacecraft will be able to return to Earth. Astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams stayed a month longer than originally planned at the International Space Station. NASA admitted that it was also considering alternative solutions for the two astronauts’ return flight, the Associated Press wrote.
Two astronauts flew to the International Space Station on Starliner in early June and were scheduled to return on June 14. This did not happen due to a malfunction of the ship’s guidance nozzles. In the meantime, four of the five malfunctioning nozzles have been put into operation.
NASA commercial flight officer Steve Stich told reporters he could not say when the return flight would take place. “We’ll be back when we’re ready,” Stich said.
According to him, the top priority is to return the two astronauts to Earth on the Starliner, but he admitted that NASA is also considering backup solutions for transporting Wilmore and Williams.
Scientists and technicians are still investigating what caused the problem during the landing of the International Space Station. Mark Nappi of Boeing, the manufacturer of the Starliner, said that based on preliminary analysis, the failure seemed to be caused by a seal failure. However, he believes that further analysis is needed.
Ten years ago, NASA ordered spacecraft from SpaceX and Boeing as part of a program to collaborate with commercial entities. While the first manned flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon took place in 2020, Boeing’s Starliner finally launched astronauts on June 5 this year due to multiple development delays and subsequent delays.
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