The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has again postponed the return to Earth of Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, the astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) after the failures of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. in the middle of this year.
The ship’s crew arrived at the ISS in June. The goal was to test the space vehicle’s comprehensive capabilities, including launch, docking and return systems. The mission was scheduled to last a week. Five of the capsule’s 28 thrusters stopped working before docking with the station. Boeing claimed its technology could ensure the safe return of astronauts. Despite this, NASA expressed doubts and concluded that the risk was too high. The agency entrusted the task to SpaceX.
Elon Musk’s company launched the Crew-9 mission in September to, among other things, return to Wilmore and Williams. Until now, the stranded cosmonauts were scheduled to return in February aboard the Crew Dragon rocket. However, NASA has announced that it expects the expedition to return to the Earth’s surface after the arrival of Crew-10, which will not be sent before the end of March 2025.
The temporary adjustment will allow SpaceX and NASA engineers to finish development of a new Dragon spacecraft, which will be delivered to the company’s Florida facility early next month.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, highlights that “manufacturing, assembly, testing and final integration of a spacecraft are meticulous tasks that require great attention to detail. “We appreciate the efforts of the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions as well as the flexibility of the station program and the crews involved.”
NASA explains that the Crew-9 and Crew-10 crews must complete the so-called “handover period,” during which ISS residents share experiences and knowledge with the newcomers. This process ensures the proper performance of scientific experiments on board and the maintenance of the orbital complex.
NASA and SpaceX specialists evaluated various options to coordinate the next manned delivery. They determined that the best alternative was “the launch of Crew-10 at the end of March was the best option to meet the agency’s requirements and achieve the station’s goals by 2025.”
The health of the Starliner astronauts
The ISS received two resupply flights in November, ensuring that the crew has sufficient food, water, clothing and oxygen. However, some experts have warned about the possible health risks to Wilmore and Williams after spending more than nine months in space.
The scientific community has studied the effects of flights to the cosmos on the human body since the 1970s. In the years after the first moon landing, it has identified conditions such as loss of bone mass, weakening of heart functions, visual problems and the development of kidney stones.
A recent study from University College London reveals that the structure and function of the kidneys can also suffer permanent damage, although these are particularly aggressive in the cases of astronauts who travel too far from Earth, which is not the case with the ISS. . “Many of these conditions are believed to be caused by exposure to galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) in deep space. Most manned missions take place in low Earth orbit, which offers partial protection from the Earth’s magnetic field. Only the 24 people who have traveled to the Moon have been fully exposed to GCRalthough for short periods of between 6 and 12 days,” the work states.
NASA points out that the crews of expeditions to the ISS usually carry out long stays, with an average duration of six months. He adds that some astronauts have carried out missions of up to a year to contribute to research on human adaptation to space flight, with a view to future lunar and Martian explorations.
#NASA #postpones #return #Starliner #astronauts #stranded #space #March
