Eight days going on eight months for pilots stuck on orbiting space station
NASA has decided the Boeing Starliner pilots stuck on the International Space Station will return to Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon pod next year – after the US agency's engineers could not clear the Starliner's thrusters for the return trip.
But their journey home was put on hold by NASA due to concerns over the Calamity Capsule's thrusters and helium leaks, leaving the duo, announced over the weekend by NASA, is to return the Starliner pod without its crew to Earth in early September., in a mission dubbed Crew-9. That mission was supposed to bring four more astronauts to the space station, though now it will only bring two, and the Starliner 'nauts will then become part of Crew-9.
NASA has yet to confirm which of the four astronauts originally due to fly on Crew-9 will have to give up their seats.NASA pushes decision on bringing crew back in Starliner to the end of AugustAs well as a black eye for Boeing, the decision also means the existing Crew-8 capsule will have to temporarily act as a lifeboat for six rather than four astronauts until Crew-9 arrives.
Ultimately, it's a question of known and unknown risks. The issues that have bedeviled the Starliner's thrusters have proven too great a risk for NASA to accept. According to NASA, the pod's thrusters are running hotter than expected, which could cause performance problems during the de-orbit burn and maneuvering. Ultimately, the NASA team opted not to take the risk of sending a crew back in Starliner.
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