Nasa avoided questions about safety but said the astronauts were 'doing great'.
Nasa has again delayed a decision about how to bring home two US astronauts stuck in space on the troubled Boeing Starliner mission.
But the Starliner craft ran into trouble when five of the spacecraft’s thrusters, which help it manoeuvre, cut out on the approach to the ISS. Helium gas, which pushes fuel into the propulsion system, also leaked. Officials said on Wednesday that the astronauts’ space suits are not interchangeable. If they returned on the earlier SpaceX flight, they would travel without Space X-specific suits, which could pose additional risks to them.
“It seems that there are decision-makers at Nasa who are unconvinced that a safe return can be guaranteed,” he said. The agency reiterated that it has “confidence” in Starliner and that the machine could be used to return the astronauts home in an emergency.
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