The space agency of the United States of America, NASA, announced today that it is too risky to return two astronauts to Earth in the problematic Boeing capsule, so they will have to wait until February of next year to return to the International Space Station by the spacecraft of the private company "Spacex".
Therefore, what was supposed to be a test flight of Boeing's manned spacecraft of no more than a week, turned into an extended stay in space that will last more than eight months.
Two experienced pilots, chosen to test Boeing's new capsule, have been stuck on the International Space Station since early July.
While they were still traveling to their destination, they encountered a series of technical problems with the capsule: engine failure, helium leakage. When they arrived at the Station, their return was delayed while Earth engineers conducted tests and discussed how to bring them home from orbit.
After nearly three months, NASA management's decision finally came today: Butch Willmore and Sunny Williams will return to Earth aboard the SpaceX spacecraft next February, and their now-empty Boeing-built Starliner capsule will separate from the International Space Station. in a week or two, and an attempt will be made to return it to Earth unmanned, using autopilot.
The two pilots were to carry out this last part of the test, planned to end with a landing in the American desert.
This is a blow to Boeing, which is already facing a lot of public pressure over technical problems with its passenger planes. The company hoped that after years of delays and rising costs, it would revive its space program, in which it also has problems, with the Starliner.
Boeing insisted that the Starliner was safe, citing tests of the propulsion engines both on Earth and in space, but that proved not to be the case.
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