NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore Extend Stay on ISS

NASA astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, who traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, might have to stay in space a few weeks longer than planned. They were supposed to return to Earth last month, but technical issues have delayed their return until August.

Technical Issues with Starliner

The Starliner spacecraft experienced delays during its launch due to safety concerns with faulty thrusters and helium leaks. Williams and Wilmore are the first human crew on this historic test mission of the Boeing-built Starliner capsule. Despite the delays, both astronauts are confident that the Starliner can safely bring them back to Earth.

Life on the ISS

Williams and Wilmore launched on June 5 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and docked at the ISS on June 6. They have joined the seven astronauts already on board to help with regular tasks, including science experiments and maintenance. Williams mentioned that they have been busy with tasks like fixing the station’s urine processor and conducting gene sequencing and 3-D printed moon microscope experiments.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program

The Starliner is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which aims to provide a second private commercial crew alternative for transporting astronauts to the ISS. Boeing and SpaceX received funding from NASA in 2014 to develop their respective spacecraft. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has already performed 12 crewed missions to the ISS since its first launch in May 2020.

Future Missions

Williams and Wilmore are continuing to test the Starliner and its subsystems to support future long-duration missions. They have integrated into the ISS crew, which they have dubbed ‘Expedition 71-plus,’ and are working alongside NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.