Boeing Starliner crew's return to Earth from International Space Station delayed yet again
Boeing Starliner crew's return to Earth from International Space Station delayed yet again
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck in space for months longer than expected, and will not return to Earth until at least March 2025 at the earliest, NASA indicated.
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It feels like we're just watching them slowly die up there. Maybe one of the billionaires is trying to discredit public space programs for good and their deaths are intended to be that final bell.
Edit: Thanks for the down votes guys! I guess my concerns are unfounded.
They're astronauts, they're loving this, they've said so in Interviews and it's pretty obvious they've not just been told to say that. That's not to mention that Starliner is a private spacecraft (just as much as Dragon is) and that's the only thing being discredited here.
I love a gym or a sauna but I’m not gonna love it after 20x my normal planned time has passed and I can’t leave.
Also: we’ve got NO idea what they REALLY think or feel privately, of COURSE they’d be forced to pretend it’s what they want in a public interview (I mean, cmon.)
I can guarantee you that all the landlocked astronauts are very jealous of them right now.
The ISS still gets regular deliveries and even some replacement astronauts from SpaceX but the Boeing and SpaceX suits aren't inter-compatible so they can't hitch a ride back afaik.
the Boeing and SpaceX suits aren't inter-compatible so they can't hitch a ride back
They are indeed hitching a ride back. The SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon launched with two empty seats for this reason. Two extra Dragon IVA suits were sent up as well.
Ah there we go. I think there was some issue with why SpaceX couldn't sent suits up earlier too right? Because that does indeed sound like IVA suits weren't compatible
They sent the flight suits up on the next scheduled flight. There was no need to rush things, because Starliner was still a viable life boat.
SpaceX can launch crazy fast if they want to, there was just no reason.
When your government is so afraid of socialism that they won't even mandate that the two companies they contract out share some compatibility for the sake of convenience.
"Should we tell them that part of the deal is that they have to both work with the others technology?"
"What are you, Lenin?"
Oof. Upvoted as hell. That is EXACTLY how capitalism works. Except that said billionaire would have to be planning on profiting from their own private space program instead…
I wonder what the defining amount of bone density loss marks the onset of osteoporosis. A cursory google search suggests that they are losing between 1-2% per month in space.