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52 Days Passed. NASA Yet To Announce Return Date of Sunita Williams From Space

  • By Thetripurapost Desk, Washington
  • Jul 29, 2024
  • 441

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her partner Butch Wilmore have been stranded in space for 52 days. 

Due to a technical fault in the spacecraft, they are in space and are waiting for a safe return to Earth. On June 5, both astronauts left on the first flight of Boeing Starliner. Both were to stay in space for 10 days. 

But due to several malfunctions in the propulsion system of the aircraft, their return date kept getting extended. Out of the 28 thrusters of Starliner, five have been found to be faulty. Apart from this, helium leak has also been reported.

NASA officials and Boeing engineers are working to resolve the technical problems of Starliner. But no solution has been found yet. However, Boeing said in a post on X that the Starliner team has completed ground testing and data review of the reaction control system thruster. 

This is being considered a good news and it is expected that the astronauts can return to Earth soon. The landing date can be determined after the Flight Test Readiness Review next week. They may return in August.

Starliner program manager Mark Nappi said, 'I am confident that we have a better spacecraft to bring the crew back.' Earlier, NASA's Commercial Crew Program Director had assured on July 10 that both astronauts could return from the space station by the end of July. But no exact date of return has been confirmed yet. NASA officials and Boeing engineers are testing the thrusters at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to find out why the thruster malfunctioned.

A team at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama is trying to find out why the helium leaked. NASA officials say the astronauts' return depends on the results of these tests. Meanwhile, Sunita Williams and her partner Butch Wilmore are hopeful about their return. Williams said that she feels that the spacecraft will take them home without any malfunction. 

According to NASA, both astronauts are trying to find out how plants of different sizes work in micro gravity