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Sunita Williams and her partner Wilmore are still stranded in the International Space Station after flying into space on June 5. The couple, who are waiting to return to Earth, said on Wednesday that they are confident that the Boeing Starliner will bring them home soon. Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams flew in the new spacecraft on June 5. They reached space the next day. The mission was for a week. But their return was delayed due to thruster failure and helium leak during the journey.
Speaking during a live press call
No date has yet been set for their return, but NASA officials said Wednesday they want them back by the end of July. Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams spoke live to the media yesterday. Asked during a live press call from the space station if they still had confidence in the Starliner team and the spacecraft, mission commander Wilmore replied, “We have full confidence.” Sunita Williams responded, “I have full confidence that the spacecraft will get us home, no matter what.”
She said she is enjoying her time on the space station. She is also doing some research. She is conducting science experiments such as gene sequencing in a microgravity environment. She described the Starliner as a “safe haven” in case of problems on the space station and also examined how the spacecraft's life support system works with four people inside.
There is a need to better understand the issues
However, before Wilmore and Williams return home, engineering teams need to better understand the root causes of some of the technical problems experienced by Starliner. For this they need to run more simulations of the same thrusters and helium seals on Earth. According to the information, the team knew before the launch that there was a helium leak in the spacecraft, but the leak became more severe during the flight. In a press call, Boeing executive Mark Nappe told the media that the cause of the thruster failure was overheating.