- Monday, March 03, 2025
Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore will need an alternative mode of transport to get home if the Starliner is not deemed safe to return to Earth
By: Shajil Kumar
WHEN two American astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, left for a test mission to the International Space Station on June 5, they were expecting return in nine days.
However, things did not go according to the plan and the two astronauts are still stuck in the space station, according to media reports.
They flew a Boeing-built Starliner spacecraft to the station. It was the first flight of its kind with people on board.
But a series of malfunctions made their landing on the space station rocky.
Now they will need an alternative mode of transport to get home if the Starliner is not deemed safe to return to Earth.
NASA and Boeing’s attempts to fix Starliner’s woes have not been successful so far.
But now NASA is contemplating to accommodate the pair with the crew of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which is due to head up to the ISS in September and return in February.
So Sunita and Barry Wilmore will now have to spend time at the space station for another six months.
However, NASA officials clarified a final decision has not yet been made, and indicated it could take a week or more to reach a conclusion.
This incident has proved to be a setback for Boeing, which has faced numerous challenges in competing with SpaceX and was hopeful the latest mission will be successful.
