Stuck in Space: NASA is staring at possible “congestion” aboard the International Space Station (ISS), that is currently housing stranded Boeing Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry (Butch) Wilmore, as per a New York Times report.
The United States' space agency's upcoming mission dubbed ‘Crew-9’ is scheduled to depart for space on August 18, and its mission's four astronauts will all also alight at the ISS once above earth. However, the space station is meant to house a total of three to six astronauts at a time.
The potential for “crowding” could thus delay the rotational mission or lead to its cancellation, until Williams and Wilmore are rescued, ANI reported. A likely sour turn of affairs.
NASA officials told the NYT that August would see “increased traffic” at the ISS, but seemed to frame the situation “positively” and as “a sign of progress”, the ANI report added.
“We have never had so many vehicles and so many options. It complicates our lives, but in a really good way,” Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA's space operations mission directorate told NYT.
The Boeing Starliner spacecraft is currently docked at the ISS with Williams and Wilmore on an extended mission due to technical problems with Starliner's propulsion system. Its return would be the priority in order to free up one of the two docking ports at the ISS. “I've got to take off a vehicle. And so our plan is undock Starliner first to free up a port,” Dana Weigel, the programme manager for the ISS at NASA told NYT.
Williams and Wilmore have been in space since June 6. But NASA and Boeing are yet to set a return date, leaving the duo in limbo, Bloomberg reported last month.
NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said mission managers are not ready to announce a return date, AP reported. “The goal is to bring Wilmore and Williams back aboard Starliner. We'll come home when we're ready. Backup options are under review. NASA always has contingency options,” Stich said.
The next NASA supported space mission would be SpaceX's Crew Dragon or ‘Crew-9’, which is set to launch earliest by August 18. The mission has four astronauts aboard the ISS for six months, and is a rotational shift for the current Crew Dragon mission aboard the space station.
But, before this happen, NASA and Boeing are looking to resolve the issue with the Starliner to make clear the needed docking port.
Steve Stich, programme manager of NASA's commercial crew programme, and Mark Nappi, who leads the Starliner efforts at Boeing, reported progress and expressed hope that the technical fixes will be completed soon, the report added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
