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Two astronauts are stuck in space because Boeing’s Starliner can’t make the journey back to Earth.
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams blasted off on 5 June in Starliner’s first mission to orbit carrying astronauts.
After docking onto the International Space Station (ISS), the NASA astronauts were supposed to stay in orbit for eight days.
However, the space capsule has had five helium leaks, five dead manoeuvring thrusters and a propellant valve that failed to close completely.
NASA has rescheduled the planned return three times, and now has no date set for it – although internally at the agency, Starliner’s latest targeted return date is 6 July, according to an anonymous source speaking to Reuters news agency.
Such a return date would mean the two astronauts would be in space for a month, instead of just over a week.
The current problems centre on Starliner’s expendable propulsion system, which is needed to back the capsule away from the ISS and position it to dive through Earth’s atmosphere.
Many of Starliner’s thrusters have overheated when fired and the leaks of helium, used to pressurise the thrusters, appear to be connected to how frequently they are used, according to NASA’s commercial crew manager Steve Stich.
So what are Butch and Suni doing up there?
The Starliner commander and pilot – who is the first female test pilot of an orbital spacecraft – spent Tuesday inside making sure the space plumbing works.
The duo replaced the pressure control and pump assembly motor that supports the space station’s main restroom, according to NASA’s ISS blog.
On Friday, they spent the day…
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