Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore reached the space station on June 6. They were to return on June 13.
The return of Indian-origin astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to Earth from the International Space Station has been postponed once again. Both astronauts have been stranded in space for the last 12 days. Sunita and Wilmore reached the space station on June 6. They were supposed to return on June 13.
However, due to technical problems in NASA’s Boeing Starliner spacecraft, their return has been postponed for the fourth consecutive time. The first announcement was made on June 9, in which it was told that the landing was being postponed till June 18.
After this, the return was extended to June 22. Then, the return date was extended to June 26. Now NASA has said that it may take more time for both the astronauts to return to Earth. However, no new date for their return has been announced.
NASA has said that both of them are not in any danger. The spacecraft in which they were to return is leaking helium. Efforts are underway to rectify the defect. This spacecraft has a capacity of 45 days, 18 days have passed.
The spacecraft malfunctioned just after launch
The crew welcomes Starliner Crew Flight Test commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams after arrival at the space station on June 6.
Boeing’s Starliner mission was launched on Wednesday, June 5 at 8:22 pm. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on ULA’s Atlas V rocket. The spacecraft reached the ISS the next day, i.e., on June 6 at 11:03 pm. It was scheduled to arrive at 9:45 pm, but there was a problem in the reaction control thruster.
5 of 28 thrusters failed
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said five of Starliner’s 28 reaction control thrusters failed during the final phase of its approach to the ISS on June 6. However, four of them later came back online. An evaluation of what happened is ongoing.
Thruster hot-fire test conducted
Boeing and NASA ground team members conducted a thruster hot-fire test over the weekend. One thruster was not fired during the test due to unusually low pressure first observed during docking, and it will remain offline during the return to Earth.
Complete process of landing in 6 points
- During reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will begin to slow down to a speed of 28,000 Km/hour. During this time the crew may feel a load of up to 3.5 g. After reentry, the heat shield on the front of the spacecraft will be removed to protect the parachute system.
- Two drag and three main parachutes will further slow the Starliner. The base heat shield will deploy, exposing the dual airbag system. 6 primary airbags will deploy at the base of the capsule. These will act as cushions during landing.
- The spacecraft will travel at a speed of about 6 kilometres per hour during landing. Possible landing locations include Wilcox in Arizona and Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. Edwards Air Force Base in California is available as an emergency landing site.
- After touchdown, the crew will remove the parachutes, turn off the spacecraft’s power and Mission Control will contact the landing and recovery teams via a satellite phone call. The recovery team will set up a tent around the Starliner and pump cool air into the spacecraft.
- The Starliner’s hatch will open and, less than an hour after landing, the two astronauts will go into a medical vehicle for a health check and then board a helicopter to reach NASA’s aircraft, which will take them to Houston’s Ellington Field.
- Following landing and successful recovery, NASA will complete work to certify the spacecraft as an operational crew system for missions to the space station. Missions following certification are expected to begin in 2025.
Mission launch postponed twice, successful in the third attempt
The mission was scheduled to launch on May 7 at 8:04 am from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. But the team found a problem in the oxygen relief valve in the second stage of ULA’s Atlas V rocket. In such a situation, the team decided to postpone the mission 2 hours before the launch.
The second attempt was made to launch it on June 1, but the ground launch sequencer automatically held the countdown clock 3 minutes 50 seconds before liftoff. In such a situation, the mission had to be postponed. Now the mission has been successfully launched in the third attempt.
If the mission is successful, NASA will have 2 spacecrafts for the first time. If
this mission is successful, for the first time in history, America will have 2 spacecrafts to send astronauts into space. Currently, America only has the Dragon spacecraft of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. NASA gave the contract to SpaceX and Boeing to make the spacecraft in 2014. SpaceX has already made it 4 years ago.
