NASA Provides an Update on Astronauts Stranded in Space with No End in Sight
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore may be back on Earth, but they are still stuck in space.
NASA provided an update on their two crew members who have been stranded on the International Space Station since early June due to malfunctions on their spacecraft, Boeing’s Starliner.
Although their mission has now exceeded two months, instead of the planned eight days, the organization stated that Williams, 58, and Wilmore, 60, will have to wait a bit longer for the plan to bring them back home.
In an Aug. 14 teleconference, NASA confirmed that both astronauts are in good condition aboard the ISS, with Joe Acaba, the chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, mentioning that unexpected delays are something astronauts are prepared for.
“It’s part of our jobs,” he said. “We understand that launch dates may change, mission durations may be adjusted in real-time, so as professionals, they are handling it well.”
Acaba’s colleague Ken Bowersox, the associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, noted that his team is expected to complete their analysis on the best way to bring the astronauts back within a week, followed by a formal review in the last two weeks of August.