The Associated Press reports that astronauts Sunita Williams,58, and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, 60, are now stranded at the International Space Station due to several failures experienced by their Boeing Starliner spaceship.
According to the Associated Press, engineers determined that the leak was “stable and isolated” and continued with the mission despite it occurring during the first human-manned launch of the Starliner on June 5.
Nevertheless, four further leaks were discovered the next day when Wilmore and Williams drew near the space station, and five thrusters—a mechanism used for acceleration and station keeping—failed, according to AP.
According to the source, the crew successfully docked at the station on June 6, but they have been in orbit since then on a mission that was supposed to last just eight days.
Currently, NASA is in the process of determining whether the Starliner can be prepared to return to Earth or if Wilmore and
Williams should be kept at the space station until 2025. SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Dragon craft next month for its own mission,
