NASA administrator Janet Petro discusses the return of two stuck astronauts to Earth on “The Bottom Line.”
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Snie Williams have shown they are willing to travel again on Boeing’s Starliner spaceship in the future.
Wilmore, one of them Two NASA astronauts It’s not the originally planned week or so, but more than nine months in space, he said, “Ride a heartbeat.”
“Yes, we’re going to correct all the issues we encountered,” he told reporters at a press conference on Monday, held about two weeks after their return. “We’re going to fix them. We’re going to make it work. Boeing is completely committed. NASA is completely committed. And with that, I’m on my heartbeat.”
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Snie Williams have shown they are willing to travel again on Boeing’s Starliner spaceship in the future. (Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP Getty Images / Getty Images)
Boeing Starliner The spacecraft took Willmore and Williams to the International Space Station (ISS) in early June last year, orbiting about 250 miles on Earth, and was to return home about a week later.
The spacecraft experienced some problems as it approached On the ISSNASA and Boeing chose to return to the spaceship to unmanned Earth in early September and add it to Crew-9.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was to take Willmore and Williams to the International Space Station (ISS), about 250 miles above Earth in early June last year, and was due to return home about a week later. (NASA/FOX News)
Williams on Monday was in the same opinion as Willmore on Starliner.
“I would agree,” she said in response to a question about whether they would be willing to travel again on the spaceship in the future, if they offered the opportunity to do so.
“Spaceships are really capable,” added Williams. “There are a few things that need to be fixed as Butch mentioned, and people are actively working on it. But it’s an honour to have a great spaceship and have a lot of abilities other spaceships don’t have, and it’s an honour to have it succeeded and become part of that program.”
When NASA announced in August 2024 that Starliner would return to Earth without the two astronauts being carried, the spacecraft said it faced “helium leaks” and “the issue of spacecraft reaction control thrusters.”
Dragon Spaceship From SpaceX It was used earlier this month to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth. Williams and Wilmore recorded 286 days of space.
The Spacex Dragon Capsule will splash out in the US Bay off Florida on Tuesday. (Space/NASA)
NASA said last week Also, Boeing was “advanced towards crew certification for the company’s CST-100 Starliner system.”
According to NASA, the Space Agency and Boeing joint team are “working to resolve the Starliner’s inside and outside the plane anomalies and prepare for propulsion system testing in the coming months.”
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The two organizations are planning to test New Mexico’s “Keystar Liner Thruster,” the agency said. A new helium system seal option has also been under test.
“Once you pass these planned test campaigns, you’ll be able to better understand when you can fly your next Boeing flight,” NASA’s Steve Sitch said in a statement. “We will continue to work together through certifications towards the end of this year, and then we will know where Starliner best fits in the International Space Station and its crew and cargo mission schedule.”
