Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams has been assisting with the disassembly and emptying of racks for future missions on the ISS. NASA has confirmed that Williams is safe and continues to contribute to research and maintenance on the International Space Station.
This reassurance comes after concerns arose when her return to Earth was delayed, following her flight to the space station aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on June 5. Williams will discuss the crew’s mission in a live address from the space station on July 10 at 8:30 pm.
Voyage Was Only Supposed To Last Ten Days
Although their voyage was only supposed to last ten days, Ms. Sunita Williams and her crewmate Butch Wilmore have already been on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than a month. A number of technical problems with the Boeing Starliner spaceship are the cause of this delay.
There are nine crew members on board the ISS right now, and they are carrying out their scheduled tasks. Ms. Williams has spent the last four weeks assisting with the disassembly and emptying of racks in preparation for upcoming missions, as well as evaluating the airflow in the filters.
Along with Tracy Dyson, a fellow NASA astronaut, Mr. Wilmore loaded debris and abandoned equipment aboard the Cygnus ship on July 2. This Northrop Grumman spacecraft will be discarded over the South Pacific Ocean when it is released from the International Space Station’s Unity module later this month, following a five-and-a-half-month stint in orbit.
The crew also performed a status check on the dormant Boeing Starliner that day, waiting for it to return to Earth.
It’s hugely important to work on the International orbit Station (ISS), which is essentially a football field-sized mini-city in orbit. Since 2000, astronauts have resided on the 419-ton, more than $150 billion space station.
Sixteen Sunrises Per Day For The Crew
Because there are sixteen sunrises per day for the crew, maintaining the station is an important yet difficult responsibility.
On June 6, Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore boarded the Boeing Starliner for their first crewed journey to the International Space Station. Due to spacecraft technical issues, Ms. Williams’ return flight was originally planned for June 14 but was postponed until June 26. Regretfully, NASA has not yet released a revised return date for the June 26 return; additionally, the return was postponed.
NASA and Boeing explained the delay in a statement: “NASA and Boeing leadership are adjusting the return to Earth of the Starliner Crew Flight Test spacecraft with agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station. The move off Wednesday, June 26, deconflicts Starliner’s undocking and landing from a series of planned International Space Station spacewalks while allowing mission teams time to review propulsion system data.”
Five helium leaks and problems with five of the Starliner’s 28 thrusters have been blamed for the delay. According to experts, a safe return voyage needs at least 14 thrusters.
Ms. Williams’ trip has been extended indefinitely, but NASA has guaranteed that the crew is not under any pressure to depart the station because there are enough of supplies in orbit and the schedule is somewhat flexible until mid-August.
But Boeing is under fire for unanticipated technical issues during the spacecraft’s first test flight. According to some experts, Boeing’s space endeavours might be impacted by the same problems that are plaguing its aviation division. During his first appearance before Congress recently, U.S. Senators grilled Boeing CEO David Calhoun on the company’s safety culture and transparency.
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