NASA again The return to Earth of astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who were stranded on the International Space Station after their Boeing Starliner capsule malfunctioned midway this year, has been postponed.
The spacecraft crew arrived at the ISS in June. The goal was to test the Starliner’s comprehensive capabilities, including launch, docking and return systems. The mission was scheduled to last a week. Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters failed before docking with the ISS. Boeing claimed its technology could ensure the safe return of astronauts. But NASA expressed doubts and concluded that the risks were too high. The agency turned that task over to SpaceX.
Elon Musk’s company launched the Crew-9 mission in September to return Williams and Wilmore, among others. The astronauts who have stalled so far are return in february Hop aboard the Crew Dragon Rocket. However, NASA said it expects the exploration team to return to the Earth’s surface after the arrival of Crew-10, which will be dispatched as early as the end of March 2025.
The coordination will allow SpaceX and NASA engineers to finalize development of the new Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to be delivered to the company’s Florida facility early next month.
“Building, assembling, testing and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking effort that requires great attention to detail,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said in a statement. “We thank SpaceX for their hard work. Our teams will work together to complete flight readiness of the new capsule while expanding the Dragon fleet to support our mission and station programs and the flexibility of our expedition crews.”
NASA said the Crew-9 and Crew-10 crews must complete a “handover period” during which ISS residents share their experiences and knowledge with the newly arrived crew members. This process ensures proper conduct of onboard scientific experiments and maintenance of the orbital complex.
NASA and SpaceX experts evaluated several options for coordinating the next manned delivery. They determined that a March launch of Crew-10 was “the best option to meet NASA’s requirements and achieve the space station’s 2025 space station goals,” according to an agency news release.
long distance
The ISS received two resupply flights in November to provide the crew with sufficient food, water, clothing and oxygen. But some experts have warned of potential health risks for Wilmore and Williams after spending more than nine months in space.
The scientific community has been studying the effects of spaceflight on the human body since the 1970s. In the years following the first moon landing, I confirmed the conditions These include loss of bone mass, weakened heart function, vision problems, and development of kidney stones.
Recent research from University College London reveal The structure and function of the kidneys can also suffer permanent damage, but this is especially aggressive for astronauts too far from Earth, which is not the case on the ISS.
NASA notes that ISS expedition members typically have extended stays, averaging six months. Some astronauts have been on missions of up to a year to contribute to research on human spaceflight adaptation with the goal of future exploration of the Moon and Mars, he added.
This story originally appeared on: WIRED and Spanish Translated from Spanish.
