NASA again Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has been postponed Astronauts stranded on the International Space Station after Boeing’s Starliner capsule malfunctioned In the middle of this year.
The spacecraft crew arrived at the ISS in June. The objective was to test Starliner’s comprehensive capabilities, including launch, docking and return systems. The mission was to last for a week. Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters failed to operate before docking with the ISS. Boeing claimed that its technology could guarantee the safe return of astronauts. However, NASA expressed doubts and concluded that the risk was too high. The work has been assigned to the agency SpaceX.
Elon Musk’s company launched the Crew-9 mission in September to, among other things, return Williams and Wilmore. Until now, the stranded astronauts were scheduled Return in February Aboard the Crew Dragon Rocket. However, NASA has announced that it expects the mission to return to Earth’s surface after the arrival of Crew-10, which will be sent in late March 2025 at the earliest.
The adjustment will allow SpaceX and NASA engineers to finalize development of a new Dragon spacecraft, which will be flown to the company’s Florida facility early next month.
“The construction, assembly, testing and final integration of new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. Team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and station program flexibility and expeditionary crews as we work together to accomplish this. Preparation of new capsule for flight.
NASA said the crews of Crew-9 and Crew-10 must complete a “handover period,” during which ISS residents share experience and knowledge with newcomers. This process ensures proper performance of onboard science experiments and maintenance of the orbital complex.
NASA and SpaceX experts evaluated several options for coordinating the next crude delivery. They determined that a March launch for Crew-10 “was the best option to meet NASA’s requirements and achieve the space station’s objectives for 2025,” according to an agency press release.
A long distance
The ISS received two resupply flights in November, ensuring that crew members have enough food, water, clothing and oxygen. However, some experts have warned of potential health risks for Wilmore and Williams after spending more than nine months in space.
The scientific community has been studying the effects of spaceflight on the human body since the 1970s. In the years following the first lunar landing, it Terms are identified such as loss of bone mass, impaired heart function, visual problems, and the development of kidney stones.
A recent study from University College London expresses Kidney structure and function can also be permanently damaged, although this is particularly aggressive in the case of astronauts who travel far from Earth, which is not the case on the ISS.
NASA states that crews on missions to the ISS typically have longer stays, with an average duration of six months. It adds that some astronauts have undertaken missions of up to a year to contribute to research on human adaptation to spaceflight, with a view to future lunar and Mars exploration.
This story actually appeared Wired en Español and translated from the Spanish.
