Despite their return being postponed via Boeing’s Starliner, NASA’s astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore continue to stay positive and are enjoying their extra time on International Space Station.
During a July 10 press conference, the astronauts conducted a brief conversation and displayed quiet confidence in front of the reporters.
Moreover, during the call both wilmore & sunita williams expressed their confidence in boeing’s starliner.
‘I have a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home, no problem.’ said sunita williams. While another veteran astronaut wilmore also echoed similar opinion saying, ‘we’re absolutely confident.’
He further commented, that starliner is ‘truly impressive.’ However, the duo didn’t hesitate to point out spacecraft issues. Wilmore who earlier took responsibility of manual control due to presence of malfunctions, observed a drastic ‘degradation’ in thrust.
He also admitted that the cause was not clear when the problems initially surfaced, but weak performance was evident.
Later, these veteran NASA astronauts also talked about helium leaks and other problems, which persist under NASA’s observation. Speaking about the delay, they said
‘We know that and that’s why we’re staying because we’re going to test it. That’s what we do. That’s what we do in this business. We’re going to get the data that we need to help inform our decisions, so we make the right decisions. And that’s why we feel confident’.
Currently, the duo plans to stay there for several few more weeks, as returning from space would result in the missing out on crucial data, they aim to collect.
Meanwhile, NASA has dropped the idea of utilizing fifth thruster for their return journey. Sunita Williams continues to enjoy her time and expressed,
‘Butch and I have been up here before, and it feels like coming back home. It feels good to float around. It feels good to be in space and work up here with the International Space Station team. So, yeah, it’s great to be up here.’
What’s The Issue?
In a previous month, Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore undertook a journey to international space station via boeing’s starliner.
But the return of the spacecraft continues to be postponed due to various issues like thruster malfunctions and helium leaks. Thus, they are still stuck in space.
But despite these issues, the duo remains positive that the starlink will surely bring them home.