NASA states 2 astronauts will remain in area longer to continue fixing Boeing’s pill
ByADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN AP science author
Two NASA astronauts will remain longer at the International Space Station as engineers troubleshoot issues on Boeing’s brand-new area pill that cropped up on the journey there.
NASA on Friday did not set a return date upuntil screening on the ground was total and stated the astronauts were safe.
“We’re not in any rush to come home,” stated NASA’s business team program supervisor Steve Stich.
Veteran NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off aboard Boeing’s Starliner pill for the orbiting lab on June 5. It was the veryfirst astronaut launch for Boeing after years of hold-ups and obstacles.
The test flight was anticipated to last a week or so, adequate time for Wilmore and Williams to check out the pill while docked at the station. But issues with the capsule’s propulsion system, utilized to maneuver the spacecraft, triggered NASA and Boeing to hold-up the flight home anumberof times while they evaluated the problem.
They likewise desired to prevent clashing with spacewalks by station astronauts. But a spacewalk this week was canceled after water dripped from an astronaut’s spacesuit. The problem hasn’t been solved and the prepared spacewalk next week was heldoff.
As Starliner closed in on the area station a day after launch, last-minute thruster failures nearly hindered the docking. Five of the capsule’s 28 th