Why NASA Picked Elon Musk's SpaceX to Bring Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore Back to Earth?
25 Aug 2024 12:44 PM IST
Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams. (Photo: X)
Elon Musk's SpaceX was picked by NASA to bring back Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore from space next year.
Two astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on June 6, 2024 for an 8 days mission but now they have to stay for eight months in orbit due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner.
The SpaceX crew dragon will bring back the astronauts home in February next year. The spacecraft will be launched in September as part of their routine mission.
“The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters.
Boeing’s Starliner will attempt to come back to earth without the astronauts whereas SpaceX's Crew-9 will carry both the astronauts back instead of four, which was planned earlier.
Astronauts will separately reconfigure SpaceX’s Crew-8 capsule, currently docked at the ISS, to be able to carry six astronauts home in the case of an emergency, reported Bloomberg.
In a post on X, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said, “SpaceX stands ready to support @NASA however we can.”
New Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg told Nelson that the company is committed to continuing the Starliner program.
Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore became the first crew to journey inside the Starliner to the ISS. The Boeing capsule had helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters failed. The engineers ran a series of tests to know why the thrusters failed.
The SpaceX crew dragon will bring back the astronauts home in February next year. The spacecraft will be launched in September as part of their routine mission.
“The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and bring the Boeing Starliner home uncrewed is a result of a commitment to safety,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters.
Boeing’s Starliner will attempt to come back to earth without the astronauts whereas SpaceX's Crew-9 will carry both the astronauts back instead of four, which was planned earlier.
Astronauts will separately reconfigure SpaceX’s Crew-8 capsule, currently docked at the ISS, to be able to carry six astronauts home in the case of an emergency, reported Bloomberg.
In a post on X, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said, “SpaceX stands ready to support @NASA however we can.”
New Boeing Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg told Nelson that the company is committed to continuing the Starliner program.
Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore became the first crew to journey inside the Starliner to the ISS. The Boeing capsule had helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters failed. The engineers ran a series of tests to know why the thrusters failed.
But the tests could not convince NASA that Starliner was dependable enough to bring back the scientists. NASA said one of factors to bring back Starliner uncrewed was uncertainty over how the thrusters would behave on the way to earth.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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