The two Nasa astronauts overstaying on the ISS aren’t the first astronauts to be stuck in space… and they probably won’t be the last.
We’ve all been there…stuck for hours on a broken-down train, abandoned in an airport because of a software update or – my most memorable – stranded in the Falkland Islands after an aircraft engine on an ageing air force transport plane caught fire. At least there were penguins to look at.
Spare a thought, then, for Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, now more than two months into their eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). It is thought that the spacecraft that took them there – Boeing’s shiny new Starliner – may not be capable of getting them safely back to Earth.
At a Nasa media briefing on 7 August, senior officials detailed the problems with components in the Starliner’s multiple thrusters. There were leaks in its propulsion system and some thrusters powered down. Despite extensive testing on the ground, engineers have yet to understand the physics behind the issue. Meanwhile, testing in orbit shows that, in space, the thrusters are now performing well, further adding to the confusion.
Until engineers have confidence in the propulsion system, an immediate flight home for Williams and Wilmore in Starliner is looking increasingly unlikely. Although no final decision has been made, one possible scenario is to send the spacecraft back to Earth, autonomously, without them.