Two astronauts stuck on ISS as Boeing capsule faces technical snag

 

The return of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft carrying astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS) to Earth has been postponed again by NASA to allow more time to review technical issues. The spacecraft was originally scheduled to return on June 26; before that, the first possible date was June 14. Williams and Wilmore were scheduled to return home after about a week in orbit. The two astronauts were launched on June 5 as a final demonstration to receive approval from NASA for routine flights. Starliner's first manned test flight suffered five failures in its 28 control engines, including helium leaks and sluggish fuel valves.

On June 7, Indian-born US astronaut Sunita Williams broke into an impromptu dance as she entered the ISS.

She and her colleague Butch Wilmore were greeted with a welcome card that read "Ringing Bells".

Williams, 58, a manned test flight pilot, was on her third spaceflight aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

The Expedition 71 crew welcomed Williams and Wilmore to the ISS after the Starliner docked at about 11:04 pm on June 7, about 26 hours after it launched from the US's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

"As part of @USNavy tradition for the captains boarding their ships, a bell was rung as @NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and @Astro_Suni boarded the @Space_Station," NASA posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Williams made history by becoming the first female astronaut to take part in the maiden flight of a manned spacecraft.