NASA, Astronauts Will Return to ISS with SpaceX in 2025

In the end, NASA’s wisdom prevailed, and they decided to bring the astronauts home. Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmore And in February of the following year, almost nine months had passed. New Boeing Starliner spacecraft Which was supposed to return after eight days, and will remain attached to the space station and will automatically return empty in the first half of September.

He explained that “the decision came as a result of our commitment to safety.” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson “Spaceflight is risky, even in its safest, most routine form,” he added. “A test flight like this is inherently neither safe nor routine.”

Starliner departed on June 5. Finally, but just as she was within sight of the station, she suffered an engine failure that made docking difficult. Five of the 48 thrusters were not working properly, and a helium leak forced a series of investigations to find out what was causing it and whether it could be fixed to ensure the return of veterans Sonny and Butch. For this reason, all the most important NASA centers were mobilized, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to Marshall in Alabama, and in the White Sands Desert a system identical to the spacecraft’s was activated to solve the problem. Without result.

The river of data collected in orbit and on the ground did not provide accurate indications. Instead, it left an unsolvable uncertainty. To try to overcome the problems that had already appeared on the two previous unmanned test flights, Boeing, the spacecraft’s manufacturer, had to invest $1.5 billion in internal resources, in addition to the $4.9 billion it received from the space agency. To do so. Lately, society has seemed more inclined to accept the risks supported by the information gathered in the tests in favor of returning with astronauts. But After the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters, NASA prioritized safety.The final word goes to its director, Bill Nelson, who flew as a guest on the shuttle as a senator. The next mission was the Challenger mission, which exploded in the skies over Cape Canaveral. At a news conference yesterday at the Center for Human Flight in Houston, Nelson recalled the sad memories of the past that underpinned today’s choice.

To every Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmore No problems with food reserves. Or of another kind and will be involved in the maintenance of the International Space Station. The very busy calendar of upcoming flights will be a bit frustrating as we also have to respect the agreement on the transfer of the astronaut from the Russian agency Roscosmos. But the faces were convinced yesterday by the announcement of the decision, removing the annoying black cloud of probability that the engineers, after months of hard work, have not been able to solve.