Astronauts who went for 8 days got stuck, had to stay there for 8 months

 Astronauts who went for 8 days got stuck, had to stay there for 8 months

On June 5, two American astronauts left for the International Space Station on a test mission and were expected to return to Earth within a few days.

But the events did not go according to plan.

Astronauts Barry Butch Willmore and Sunita Williams, who planned to return in just 8 days, are still stuck in the space station even after almost two months have passed.

In fact, they are stuck in the space station indefinitely. It is likely that they will have to stay in space for a long time. That is, they will spend the coming Christmas and English New Year in the space station.

Wilmore, 61, and Sunita, 58, went to the space station aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. This is the first manned flight of the aircraft. The test flight was conducted to test the performance of the new aircraft before starting regular flights.

But when it reached the space station, there was a problem. Some leaks were found in the propulsion system of the aircraft and some of its thrusters stopped.

Therefore, the two astronauts who reached the Zhenten Space Station safely had to use an alternative vehicle to return to Earth. Because the Starliner spacecraft is not considered safe to return to Earth.

During Wednesday's news briefing, NASA officials informed that no clear decision has been made regarding the next step.

Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, says, 'Our primary option is to return Butch and Sunita via the Starliner. However, we have also made necessary plans to keep other options open.

According to NASA, one of the options is to join the two astronauts in the mission that will be launched next September. If that happens, they will be able to come back to Earth with new astronauts only in February 2025.

The September mission will use the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Although four astronauts were planned to be sent on the mission, if Sunita and Butch were to be brought back, the craft would be sent to the space station, leaving two seats free.

If that happens, astronauts Sunita and Butch, who went to the space station for 8 days, will have to spend 8 months there.

Therefore, if Space X's Crew Dragon is used, the Starliner will be brought to earth freely by controlling it through a computer system.

NASA officials said it will take at least a week to make a final decision on whether to return the two astronauts to Earth.

According to NASA's director of space operations, Ken Bobersocks, the possibility of the Starliner spacecraft returning to Earth has increased due to the sequence of events that have developed in recent weeks.

If the NASA astronauts have to be placed on the SpaceX spacecraft and returned to Earth and the Starliner is returned empty, it will be a big blow for the Boeing Company. Boeing has been competing with SpaceX for years in the field of spacecraft manufacturing.

Recently, NASA has used the Space X rocket to transport more food and clothes and other necessities to the station for Sunita and Butch in the space station.

Remember, this is the third space flight for both of them.

Even though they had to stay in space for an unexpectedly long time, there are many astronauts who have spent longer than these two.

Russian cosmonaut Valery Polikov spent 437 days in space in the 1990s. Similarly, only last year, American astronaut Frank Rubio returned after spending 371 days in space.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Konon, who is currently on the space station, will spend more than 1,000 days on the space station in his career.

He is the world's first astronaut.