Needham, Massachusetts native Suni Williams, 58, is one among two veteran NASA astronauts that have been stuck at the International Space Station since the…
at the International Space Station since the beginning of June. Now the team has learned they'll have to wait until next year for a ride home with SpaceX.
The two astronauts -- Wiliams and and Butch Wilmore -- blasted off aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule in June 2024 for what was supposed to be a weeklong stay at the space station. But, in another blow to Boeing, the pair experienced a cascade of vexing thruster failures and helium leaks in their capsule marred their trip to the space station, and they ended up in a holding pattern as engineers conducted tests and debated what to do about the trip back.
Before their June 5 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, they said their families bought into the uncertainty and stress of their professional careers decades ago. During their lone orbital news conference last month, they said they had trust in the thruster testing being conducted. They had no complaints, they added, and enjoyed pitching in with space station work.in Needham cheered and jumped up in the air as they watched Williams takeoff on a TV in their classroom.
The SpaceX capsule that's currently parked at the space station is reserved for the four residents who have been there since March. They will return in late September, their stay extended a month by the Starliner dilemma. NASA said it would be unsafe to squeeze two more into the capsule, except in an emergency.
So Wilmore and Williams will wait for SpaceX's next taxi flight. It’s due to launch in late September with two astronauts instead of the usual four for a routine six-month stay. NASA yanked two to make room for Wilmore and Williams on the return flight in late February.
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