‘Aren’t stranded in space’: Astronauts from Boeing Starliner still on International Space Station

The eight-day mission for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams was extended, but NASA wants to make it clear that the test pilots “aren’t stranded in space.”

During a news conference last week, NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said the team’s return has been extended indefinitely, but that Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth once testing on the Boeing Starliner’s thrusters is complete.

Stich said the pair are safe on the ISS but there is no return date set, WFTV reported.

Mark Nappi, the program manager, said reports that Williams and Wilmore are stranded are a mischaracterization.

“It’s pretty painful to read the things that are out there,” Nappi said, according to CBS News. “We’ve gotten a really good test flight ... and it’s being viewed rather negatively. We’re not stuck on ISS. The crew is not in any danger, and there’s no increased risk when we decide to bring Suni and Butch back to Earth.”

The Starliner suffered from helium leaks — one that was present at the launch and three others that developed during the connection with the ISS — and an issue with its thrusters during the test flight.

“They want to take as much time as possible to sort of test the system out and collect as much data as possible, not only for this flight, but this is important information for any time in the future when they use the Starliner for additional missions,” Dr. Don Platt said, according to WFTV. Platt is an Associate Professor of Space Systems at Florida Tech.

The spacecraft’s service module contains not only thrusters and helium lines, but several other systems that must be studied before being discarded and before re-entry, where it will burn up in the atmosphere, CBS News reported.

Stich said of the crew, “Their spacecraft is working well, and they’re enjoying their time on the space station.”

The Starliner launched on June 5.

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