Astronauts again stuck: The task of returning them from space station was rejected

The astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sonita Williams For nine months have been expected to return to Earth, since in June 2024, the International Space Station as part of the Starline Valley Experiment flight from Boeing. However, the spacecraft suffered serious malfunctions in the propulsion system, and SSA has subsequently decided not to jeopardize astronauts’ lives and not return it through Earth.

Wilmore Williams’ long wait has already become an ongoing saga, and are currently at the space station for a much longer time than planned. What was supposed to be a short eight -day task, extended for full nine months, an unusual situation that created ongoing psychological and physical difficulty for the two and their families. During a earlier conversation this month, Williams told journalists that she “expects to meet the family and dogs again, who go through even more emotional roller coaster than us.”

In the meantime, a rare and exceptional political intervention in NASA task management has caused additional pressure to shorten waiting times. Elon Musk CEO Spacex and Donald TrumpThe President of the United States, Manasa demanded to precede the flight to bring Wilmore Williams back as soon as possible. These pressures have brought that NASA replaced the planned spacecraft with the other, which was ready faster, and rejected the original flight date from March 14 to March 14.

However, the flight designed for last Thursday was rejected again due to harsh weather conditions that include strong winds and rain in the area of ​​Spacex’s Dragon’s flight. At the same time, a technical problem discovered at the bottom of the Palton 9 launcher, which is supposed to carry the spacecraft into space, has another postponed mission for the next Friday evening (US time).

According to NASA, the main reason why astronauts could not leave the station earlier is the need to maintain enough personnel to fully and safely enable the station.

Barry Wilmore and Sonita Williams are experienced and veteran pilots in space, both former American Navy experimental pilots. Now they will have to spend a few more days at the space station, hoping that the upcoming Spacex flight on Friday will finally be able to return home after almost a year in space.

The International Space Station, where Wilmore Williams are currently being built in 1998 in collaboration between the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency. The station cruises an average of 400 miles above the earth, and its main objectives are advanced scientific research, examining a long stay in space on the human body, and testing new technologies to help with future tasks to the deep space and steam.

At any given moment, the station is manned by an international team of between three and seven astronauts and cosmonauts from the project’s partnership countries. According to NASA, the station is expected to finish its role in 2030 and crash into the Pacific Ocean at the beginning of 2031. The height of the station above the earth is about 400 miles on average.