NASA reportedly failed to ensure the safe return of the two astronauts who were sent to the International Space Station aboard the capsule Starliner Boeing, an astrophysicist reports. This is why the US government agency has postponed the return trip until next year, awarding the contract to the aerospace manufacturer’s competitor.
“We have doubts that we will be able to properly orient the capsule for re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, so we could lose astronauts during the return and NASA does not want to take any chances with the lives of the two astronauts,” said André Grandchamps in an interview on the show Le Bilan, Monday evening.
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were originally scheduled to complete an eight-day mission to the International Space Station, will now have to stay in space until 2025.
The specialist explains that NASA first encountered problems with the thrusters that allow the capsule to be oriented. Starliner.
Of the 28 installed on the craft, “five stopped working before we docked with the space station,” he explains. “So we had to do a docking, not automatically, but manually.”
In addition to this thruster problem, NASA also reportedly detected helium leaks.
“We tried to reproduce on Earth the difficulties that the capsule had encountered to find out if it was perfectly safe to bring back the astronauts. But we were not able to do it,” Mr. Grandchamps emphasizes.
NASA was therefore forced to find another solution to bring back the astronauts who had been stuck in space for several months.
Ultimately, it is Elon Musk’s private company, SpaceX, that should guarantee the return of the two workers to Earth; “basically, Boeing’s direct competitors,” the guest recalls. “It’s a bit paradoxical.”
Although the gap between eight days and eight months is huge, Mr. Grandchamps is not worried about the health of the astronauts.
“They’re both seasoned astronauts,” he says. “Both have been to the International Space Station before: Suni Williams twice and Butch Wilmore once. Yes, they didn’t expect it, but I’m sure they’re ready to do it somewhere.”
Watch the full interview with André Grandchamps in the video above.
