Two astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner will have to stay six more months and return home with rival SpaceX.
Stranded Boeing astronauts to return to Earth with Elon Musk’s rival SpaceXAstronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were expected to stay eight days at the ISS, but under the new plan will be there eight months before heading back to Earth aboard a SpaceX vehicle. Image: Miguel J.
Officials have said the astronauts on the ISS have plenty of supplies, and are trained for extended stays. Amid intense efforts to diagnose the problem and fashion a possible fix, NASA had to put the astronauts’ return on indefinite hold. “It was just too much risk with the crew,” said senior NASA official Steve Stich. Norm Knight, another agency official, added that the astronauts “support the agency’s decision fully.”
Ten years ago, following the retirement of the Space Shuttle, NASA ordered new vessels from both Boeing and SpaceX that could ferry astronauts to and from the ISS.But Elon Musk’s SpaceX beat Boeing to the punch and has been the lone vehicle used to taxi astronauts for the past four years. One of the top Springboks has been granted permission to leave South Africa to join a club abroad for an even bigger salary.
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