Could 2 NASA astronauts be stuck at the space station until next year? Here's what to know (2024)

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been up there since early June, their planned eight-day mission at the two-month mark and possibly surpassing eight months.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA is wrestling over how and when to bring two astronauts back from the International Space Station, after repeatedly delaying their return aboard Boeing's troubled capsule.

Do they take a chance and send them home soon in Boeing's Starliner? Or wait andbring them back next year with SpaceX?

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been up there since early June, their planned eight-day mission at the two-month mark and possibly surpassing eight months.

Testing continues, with Boeing expressing confidence in its spacecraft but NASA divided. A decision is expected next week.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH BOEING'S STARLINER?

This is Boeing'sfirst time launching astronauts, after flying a pair of empty Starliners that suffered software and other issues. Even before Wilmore and Williams blasted off June 5, their capsule sprang a leak in propulsion-related plumbing. Boeing and NASA judged the small helium leak to be stable and isolated, and proceeded with the test flight. But as Starliner approached the space station the next day, four more leaks erupted. Five thrusters also failed.

The capsule managed to dock safely, and four of the thrusters ultimately worked. But engineers scrambled, conducting thruster test-firings on the ground and in space. After two months, there's still no root cause for the thruster malfunctions. All but one of the 28 thrusters seem OK, but the fear is that if too many conk out again, the crew's safety could be jeopardized. The thrusters are needed at flight's end to keep the capsule in the right position for the critical deorbit burn.

ARE THE TWO ASTRONAUTS STRANDED?

NASA bristles at suggestions that Wilmore and Williams are stranded or stuck. NASA has stressed from the get-go that in an emergency at the space station — like a fire or decompression — Starliner could still be used by the pair as a lifeboat to leave. A former NASA executive said Thursday the astronauts are “kind of stuck,” although certainly not stranded. They’re safe aboard the space station with plenty of supplies and work to do, said Scott Hubbard.

If NASA decides to go with a SpaceX return, Starliner would be be cut loose first to open up one of two parking spots for U.S. capsules. Before that happens Wilmore and Williams would fashion seats for themselves in the SpaceX Dragon capsule currently docked at the space station. That's because every station occupant needs a lifeboat at all times. Once Starliner's docking port is empty, then SpaceX could launch another Dragon to fill that slot — the one that Wilmore and Williams would ride.

WHY MIGHT THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR?

Like Boeing's Starliner, SpaceX's Dragon is meant to carry four astronauts. To make room for Wilmore and Williams, NASA said Wednesday it could bump two of the four astronauts due to launch to the space station next month with SpaceX. The empty seats would be reserved for Wilmore and Williams, but they would have to remain up there until February. That's because station missions are supposed to last at least six months. Some have lasted a year. Two Russians up there right now will close out a yearlong stint when they return in a three-seat Soyuz capsule in September alongside a NASA crewmate. There's no thought given to ordering up a special SpaceX express, and the Dragon at the station now is the ride home next month for four residents.

This isn't the first time a U.S. astronaut has had their stay extended.NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates ended up spending just over a year in space after their docked Soyuz capsule was hit by space junk and leaked all its coolant. An empty Russian capsule was sent up to bring them back last September.

WHAT DO THE ASTRONAUTS THINK ABOUT ALL THIS?

Wilmore and Williams are both retired Navy captains and longtime NASA astronauts who already have long space station missions behind them. Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, said going into this test flight that they expected to learn a lot about Starliner and how it operates. At their only news conference from space in July, they assured reporters they were keeping busy, helping with repairs and research, and expressed confidence in all the Starliner testing going on behind the scenes. There's been no public word from them yet on the prospects of an eight-month stay.

IS THERE ENOUGH FOOD, WATER AND AIR?

Wilmore and Williams' suitcases were removed from Starliner before liftoff to make room for equipment urgently needed for the space station's urine-into-drinking-water recycling system. So they made do with spare clothes already up there. A supply ship finally arrived this week with their clothes, along with extra food and science experiments for the entire nine-person crew. More supplies are due in a few more months. As for air, the space station has its own oxygen-generating systems. Despite the fat reserves, NASA would like to get back to normal as soon as possible. Besides Wilmore and Williams, there are four other Americans and three Russians on board.

WHY IS NASA STICKING WITH STARLINER?

NASA deliberately hired two companies to get its crews to and from the space station, just as it did for delivering cargo. The space agency considered it an insurance policy of sorts: If one crew or cargo provider was grounded, the other could carry the load. 'You want to have another alternative both for cost reasons and for safety reasons and options. So NASA needs Boeing to be successful," said Hubbard, who served on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board in 2003.

Even with the latest setbacks, NASA insists it wants to keep using Boeing Starliners for astronaut rides. The goal is to send up one Dragon and one Starliner every year with crews, six months apart, until the station is retired in 2030. SpaceX has been at it since 2020.

WHAT DOES BOEING SAY?

Boeing insists its capsule could still safely bring the astronauts home. But the company said Wednesday it would take the steps necessary to bring the capsule back empty if that's NASA's decision. Last week, the company posted a list of all the tests that have been done on the thrusters since liftoff.

“We still believe in Starliner’s capability and its flight rationale.” the company said.

A longtime space contractor, Boeing has had to overcome multiple Starliner problems over the years. The company had to launch an empty Starliner twice before committing to a crew, repeating the initial flight test because of bad software and other issues. The delays have cost the company more than $1 billion.

Hubbard questions whether NASA and Boeing should have launched the crew with the original helium leak, which cascaded into more.

“Whatever happens with the Starliner, they need to find out what the problem was and fix it,” he said, “And give everybody confidence they are still in the aerospace business in a major way.”

Could 2 NASA astronauts be stuck at the space station until next year? Here's what to know (2024)

FAQs

What astronauts are stuck in space right now? ›

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been up there since early June, their planned eight-day mission at the two-month mark and possibly surpassing eight months. Testing continues, with Boeing expressing confidence in its spacecraft but NASA divided. A decision is expected next week.

Why are the two astronauts stuck in space? ›

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and his two Russian crewmates ended up spending just over a year in space after their docked Soyuz capsule was hit by space junk and leaked all its coolant. An empty Russian capsule was sent up to bring them back last September.

What happens if an astronaut stays in space for too long? ›

Bones and muscles weaken

If you stay for a long time in space, your muscles and bones will weaken, primarily in the legs and lower back. Gravity always acts on you while you're on the earth, so even if you're not really conscious of resisting gravity, you're always using the muscles of your lower body.

How long will the astronauts be stuck in space? ›

This week, NASA said the pair might wind up staying in space until 2025, though no decision has been made. An even-longer posting would happen if the agency taps SpaceX to bring them back, on a return trip the Elon Musk-led company is scheduled to conduct for NASA in February.

How much do astronauts get paid? ›

What is the average NASA astronaut's salary? According to NASA, civilian astronaut salaries are determined by the US Government's pay scales – or more specifically grades GS-13 to GS-14. As of 2022, the GS-13 pay scale ranges from $81,216 to $105,579 per annum. This is up to $8,798.25 per month or $50.59 an hour.

Do the astronauts stuck in space have food? ›

When asked if the astronauts have enough food and supplies for an additional six months, Massimino responded, "Yes, they do." "They try to think of everything," he said in reference to NASA.

How many astronauts have floated away in space? ›

Has anyone floated away in space? Fortunately, most of the horror stories shown to us in movies never happened in real life. So, the answer to the question has an astronaut ever floated away in space and died, is a negative one.

Have any astronauts been stranded in space? ›

Wilmore and Williams have been living on the International Space Station since June 6, after launching on the inaugural crewed flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The mission is a critical test to determine if the vehicle is safe to regularly carry astronauts to and from orbit.

Why can't two astronauts talk in space? ›

Sound requires a medium for propagation. Therefore, two astronauts floating close to each other in space will not be able to talk to each other without using any special device because in space there is vacuum ( no material medium).

What happens to the human body in space without a suit? ›

Without a spacesuit in space, you would become unconscious within 15 seconds due to lack of oxygen. Your blood and body fluids would boil and then freeze because of the extremely low air pressure, and your tissues would expand from the boiling fluids.

Why would blood boil in space? ›

The pressure in the vacuum of space is so low that the boiling point of the fluids in your body decreases below the body's normal temperature (37 degree Celsius), which results in the formation of gas bubbles in your fluids that can really mess you up.

What happens to astronaut's bodies in space? ›

In space, astronauts may face decreases in blood volume, orthostatic tolerance, and aerobic capacity while also experiencing increased arrhythmias. Although the cardiovascular system functions well in space, the body does not require as much work from the heart (still a muscle, after all) in microgravity.

How long would a human last in space? ›

How long can you survive in outer space? Without a space suit, you'd lose consciousness in about 15 seconds, die after 90 seconds and freeze solid within 12 to 26 hours.

Will space eventually end? ›

In either case, you could never get to the end of the universe or space. Scientists now consider it unlikely the universe has an end – a region where the galaxies stop or where there would be a barrier of some kind marking the end of space.

How many years do astronauts stay in space? ›

Short missions can last a few days to a week, while longer missions on the International Space Station typically last about six months. The longest anyone has stayed in space on a single mission is 437 days, a record set by Russian astronaut Valeri Polyakov in the mid-1990s.

Are the Boeing astronauts still stuck in space? ›

A former NASA executive said Thursday the astronauts are “kind of stuck,” although certainly not stranded. They're safe aboard the space station with plenty of supplies and work to do, said Scott Hubbard.

Do we currently have astronauts in space? ›

Today there are usually seven astronauts living on board at any given time, from a variety of countries.

How many people are on the ISS right now? ›

As of September 12, 2021, 244 individuals have made 403 spaceflights to the ISS, including the seven people currently at the ISS (Expedition 65).

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