How long exactly will they be stuck there?
Positive side
While two astronauts remain stuck aboard the International Space Station due to a series of problems with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, NASA is praising the aerospace company for getting them there in one piece.
If Space.com According to NASA reports, despite the various problems that arose during its first days in space, the Starliner is now performing well enough to remain, along with former Navy pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the astronauts who rode to the ISS in the capsule. The astronauts can stay there for as long as the agency and Boeing need to resolve those issues.
Despite repeated delays, warnings that the Boeing capsule ship would likely have problems, and the discovery of helium leaks before launch, NASA went ahead with the first manned Starliner launch in early June. To everyone’s surprise, the craft immediately ran into problems, first with more leaks on its journey to the ISS and then with problems docking once it arrived.
Although the mission was originally only supposed to last 10 days, that period is getting longer and longer, which is why the mission has now been extended indefinitely.
Exponential increase
Yes, we roll our eyes too.
“We’ve talked about a 45-day limit, limited by the crew module batteries on Starliner, and we’re in the process of updating that limit,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, told reporters late last week during a conference call attended by Space.com“We’ve looked at those batteries and their performance in space. They’re being charged by the station, and that risk hasn’t really changed. So the risk for the next 45 days is essentially the same as the first 45 days.”
If you’ve been keeping track, you’ve got the jargony explanation for the American astronauts stranded indefinitely aboard the ISS. A NASA official admitted they could be there for a total of 90 days. That’s nine times longer than the 10 days Wilmore and Williams were originally allotted for the mission.
And if Space.com Notes: Starliner can technically remain in orbit for 210 days, which is 21 times longer than the original 10-day period.
It’s a disastrous situation for everyone involved, but hey, luckily the capsule didn’t explode!
More about Starliner: NASA says Boeing “Astronauts are not stranded” While the astronauts remain stranded