Weeks may stretch into months for stranded NASA astronauts
CTV
A pair of American astronauts may be asked to wait six more months in space before returning to earth, NASA officials acknowledged Wednesday.
A pair of American astronauts may be asked to wait six more months in space before returning to earth, NASA officials acknowledged Wednesday.
Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams flew to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Boeing spacecraft in June, but have been stuck indefinitely in space. Engineers on Earth are attempting to diagnose leaks that forced failures to the spacecraft’s thrusters.
The scheduled eight day journey has ballooned into a two month trip, and NASA officials said they’re considering altering course completely, dropping the Boeing Starliner back to Earth empty, and bringing the astronauts home in February 2025, eight months later than planned.
"We heard from a lot of folks that had concern," said Ken Bowersox, who helps lead space operations for NASA. "We heard from enough voices that the decision was not clear."
The astronauts are now facing an extended stay aboard the ISS, but so far haven’t voiced any complaints. They probably don’t mind, according to Dan Riskin, a science and technology expert.
"This is what they trained for, this is what they live for," he said. "They are made of something different from the rest of us."
Both are veteran astronauts who’ve been to the ISS before. The pair aren’t just sitting on their hands — they’ve recently received a new supply of food and clothes and are working on scientific research with the rest of the ISS crew.
