‘Not in a rush’ to bring Sunita Williams home, NASA says ‘station is a nice, safe place’

Amidst circulating reports claiming that NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical issues, both NASA and Boeing officials have stepped forward to refute these claims, emphasising that the astronauts are safe and their return is simply a matter of careful planning.

The concerns stemmed from suspected helium leaks detected on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that transported the astronauts to the ISS earlier this month. However, during a press conference late Friday, NASA officials assured the public that the situation is under control.

“I want to make it real clear that we’re not in any rush to come home,” stated Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager.

He further emphasised the safety of the ISS, saying, “The station is a nice, safe place to stop and take our time to work through the vehicle and make sure we’re ready to come home.”

Both NASA and Boeing are taking a cautious approach, thoroughly evaluating Starliner’s propulsion system performance before initiating the return trip to Earth.

Adding to the mission’s extended timeline is a recent water leak detected in a service and cooling umbilical unit. This incident prematurely ended a spacewalk on June 24, and NASA has now adjusted its schedule, targeting the end of July for the next spacewalk. This postponement allows ground teams ample time to address the leak and ensure astronaut safety.

While the astronauts were initially scheduled for an eight-day mission, their stay on the ISS has been significantly extended. However, NASA assures that the spacecraft has sufficient resources to support the astronauts during this time.

“The spacecraft requires seven hours of time to perform a normal end-of-mission and it “currently has enough helium left in its tanks to support 70 hours of free flight activity following undocking,” reported NASA.