Sunita Williams: It has been more than three weeks since Indian-origin astronauts Sunita Williams and Bush Wilmore went into space. When will NASA and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft return, this is still a question. Actually, this mission was said to be of only 8 days.
It is being said that while taking the spacecraft to the space station, there was a leakage of helium gas and some problem in the thrusters. But the space agency officials say that the spacecraft is completely safe and there is no problem in bringing back the astronauts. The only problem is that no date has been fixed for bringing Sunita and Bush back.
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First know what are the features of Starliner spacecraft
Starliner Crew Flight Test Spacecraft is actually a space capsule. It has been made by Boeing company and this capsule has been made to take passengers to low-Earth orbit. The range of low-Earth orbit is about 2000 km above the earth. According to NASA, this is such a height that from here one can easily contact the earth, see the earth and send the necessary goods.
The American company Boeing has built this Starliner in collaboration with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. This vehicle can carry seven people at a time. The most important thing is that this capsule can be used up to 10 times and it takes only six months to re-prepare it after each use.
Then why was Starliner sent to the space station?
Actually, the Starliner spacecraft has been sent to the International Space Station (ISS). The plan was that Starliner would stay there for about eight days. During this time, astronauts Sunita Williams and Bush Wilmore will also stay on the space station. You know that scientists from many countries work together on research at the space station. The main objective of this mission was to prove that this Starliner spacecraft is capable of carrying astronauts and bringing them back.
But, since the launch of Starliner, many problems have come up. This mission was postponed several times. Initially it was to be launched on May 6, but just two hours before the launch, the countdown had to be stopped suddenly. There was some problem in the pressure valve installed in the upper part of the Atlas V. After this, due to many more technical problems, the launch kept getting delayed for weeks. Finally, the spacecraft was launched on June 5.
How did the Starliner spacecraft get stuck in space?
When the Starliner spacecraft was launched from the Atlas V rocket on June 5, a problem arose from that very moment. The mission team detected a leak of helium gas even before the launch. But then it was not considered such a big problem that the launch had to be stopped.
The special thing is that the mission team has no regrets about this, because this is just a test flight for NASA and Boeing. Their purpose is to collect data so that Starliner can be made better for future missions.
But the leakage of helium gas did not stop even after the launch. While going towards the space station, more helium gas leakage was seen in the spacecraft. Also, some thrusters also had problems. All these problems occurred in the service module of Starliner, which is a cylindrical part installed at the bottom of the spacecraft. This is where most of the power is provided during the flight.
This service module cannot return to Earth. It is bound to be destroyed during the return. In fact, when the Starliner enters the Earth’s atmosphere, the service module separates and burns.
Why is Sunita Williams’ return getting delayed?
The delay in bringing back astronauts Sunita Williams and Bush Wilmore is happening because Boeing and NASA want to do some ground tests in New Mexico. Through this, they are trying to understand why some of the Starliner’s thrusters (the device that guides the rocket) suddenly malfunctioned during the space journey.
However, four of the five thrusters have been repaired later, but one is still faulty and will not work for the entire mission. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said, “We are just figuring out the time it will take to test in New Mexico and then look at the data. This is actually the biggest hurdle, due to which it is not yet decided when the astronauts will return.”
Another reason for the delay in bringing back Starliner is that it is not yet fully known where the problem is. Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program, said that engineers are not yet fully sure what the real cause of the problem is.
Boeing’s program manager Mark Nappi says that if the test is done in New Mexico and we get all the information from it, then we can return directly. But if we get 80 percent answers from the test and one more test is needed to get 100% answer, then we will do the test. We would like to keep the Starliner there till the test is completed so that we can get complete information.
What will happen to Sunita Williams and Bush Wilmore?
Now the biggest question is what will happen to Sunita Williams and Bush Wilmore. But there is no danger for them right now. The Starliner spacecraft they have gone in can remain connected to the space station for 45 days. At the same time, there are so many goods and essential things present on the space station that they can last for many months.
If there is a major problem, then they can be brought back in an emergency. But the space agency still wants to understand where the problem is. If they are brought back now by Starliner, then it will be difficult to find out later where the problem actually occurred, because some part of the service module will burn and get destroyed during the return.
