Stranded Astronauts
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Boeing's Starliner took two astronauts up to the ISS on June 5. I think the mission was to last 2 weeks?
Helium leaks have plagued the Starliner and have made maneuvering the craft difficult, if not impossible. Most recent news is that the mission has been "extended" to mid-July.
Word is that SpaceX is preparing a rescue.
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Could make for a good SNL skit. As their (return) flight keeps getting delayed, the incumbent astronauts on the ISS start hiding 'the good food' from the visiting astronauts and it gets dramatic.
Getting back in the Starliner for a return trip to earth does not give me the warm and fuzzies. How nervous would you be?
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bits from the article
Weightlessness is a joy, especially after astronauts adapt and fly around the station with ease. “Gravity sucks. It’s horrible,” veteran NASA astronaut Sandy Magnus once said.
But despite the wonders of whizzing around the globe at 17,500 mph, experiencing a sunrise every 90 minutes and seeing entire continents in your field of view, space can get old. Even the most hardened astronauts get homesick. The station can feel cramped. Going to the bathroom, a delicate procedure involving suction, is unpleasant. And the lack of gravity makes astronauts feel constantly congested as fluids shift in their bodies.
“I think the perfect space mission is probably about a month because it gives you enough time to start feeling normal, and then you would go home,” Scott Kelly, the former NASA astronaut who spent nearly a year on the space station, said in an interview.
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One informed source said it was greater than a 50-50 chance that the crew would come back on (Spacex's) Dragon. Another source said it was significantly more likely than not they would. To be clear, NASA has not made a final decision. This probably will not happen until at least next week. It is likely that Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator, will make the call.
Asked if it was now more likely than not that Starliner's crew would return on Dragon, NASA spokesperson Josh Finch told Ars on Thursday evening, " NASA is evaluating all options for the return of agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station as safely as possible. No decisions have been made and the agency will continue to provide updates on its planning."
My understanding is that there are two docking locations on the ISSS. One of them has a Dragon already docked. It is a "lifeboat" in case of a catastrophic event on the ISSS. The other one is occupied by Starliner.
That's awkward.
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spacex to the rescue:
Two NASA astronauts who flew to the International Space Station in June aboard Boeing's faulty Starliner capsule will need to return to Earth on a SpaceX vehicle early next year, NASA said on Saturday, deeming issues with Starliner's propulsion system too risky to carry its first crew home.
Starliner will undock from the ISS without a crew and attempt to return to Earth as it would have with astronauts aboard.
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Sit right back and you’ll hear a tale… A tale of a fateful trip…
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@George-K said in Stranded Astronauts:
The bartender is not pleased with having just been sprayed with Modelo…
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Coming home empty this PM.
https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-crew-flight-test-earth-return-webcast
Boeing's Starliner capsule will depart the International Space Station without astronauts today (Sept. 6), and you can watch the action live.
A livestream of Starliner's homecoming will begin at 5:45 p.m. EDT (2145 GMT) today, featuring the capsule's undocking at 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 GMT). You can watch it here at Space.com, via NASA Television.
Landing, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, is scheduled about six hours later, on Saturday (Sept. 7) at 12:03 a.m. EDT (0403 GMT or 10:03 p.m. local time Sept. 6). NASA will livestream that event as well, starting at 10:50 p.m. EDT (0250 GMT).
I remember reading a story that this is pretty risky, considering the unreliability of the helium-powered thrusters. After all, that's why it's not coming down with a crew aboard. Concern is that this unreliability may cause damage to the ISS.
Fingers crossed.
