NASA astronauts Sunita Williams aur Butch Wilmore 5 June 2024 se International Space Station (ISS) per hai. Shuru mein unka wapas aane ka plan sirf ek hafte ka tha. Lekin, Boeing Starliner spacecraft ke kharab hone ke karan jo haal hi mein bina crew ke zameen per aaya, unki stay extend karni padi.
Ab, Sunita Williams aur Butch Wilmore ke wapas aane ki naye schedule ko February 2025 ke liye set kiya gaya hai. Agar emergency hoti hai, to SpaceX Dragon spacecraft ko unka emergency return vehicle ke roop mein use kiya jayega jab tak SpaceX Crew-9 mission launch nahi hota, jo 24 September se pehle nahi hoga.
Starliner se SpaceX Crew Dragon par switch karne ka decision spacecraft ke safety concerns ke baad liya gaya. Starliner ke flight ke dauran kuch thrusters theek se kaam nahi kar rahe the aur helium system mein leaks dekhe gaye. NASA aur Boeing ne astronauts ke safe return ke liye thorough testing aur analysis kiya hai.
Yeh precautionary measure past incidents, jaise Columbia shuttle disaster, ke lessons ko bhi reflect karta hai, jo spacecraft safety ke critical importance ko highlight karta hai.
Williams aur Wilmore ISS per akele nahi hai. Unhone Expedition 71 ko join kiya hai, jisme NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, aur Tracy C. Dyson, aur Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, aur Alexander Grebenkin shamil hai.
Astronauts apne mission ko continue karte huve research, maintenance, aur experiments jaise fiber optic cable production aur plant growth per kaam kar rahe hai.
