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Amid uncertainty over Sunita Williams’ return from space, NASA recently shared an update about the International Space Station (ISS), the India-born astronaut’s temporary home in space. Astronauts on the ISS were forced to take shelter for nearly an hour after a defunct Russian satellite broke into over 100 pieces near the space station.
LeoLabs said in a statement that the threat from the debris of the defunct Russian satellite would remain for a long time, as it could take several weeks to several months for the threat to be resolved.
“Due to the low orbit of this debris cloud, we estimate it will be several weeks or months before the threat is resolved,” Reuters quoted LeoLabs as saying.
The Russian satellite, RESURS-P1 (#39186) broke into hundreds of pieces in low Earth orbit on Wednesday. It is worth noting that there is no immediate threat to the ISS astronauts. However, the incident has added to the space debris. The US Space Command said in a statement that the explosion left about 100 pieces of trackable debris in space.
Will the downing of the Russian plane near the ISS affect Williams’ return?
According to Space Command, the plane broke into pieces at around 10 am Mountain Time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday. It was reported that the malfunction occurred in orbit near the space station. Due to this incident, all the astronauts on board the plane, including Sunita Williams, were asked to take shelter in their spacecraft for about an hour.
So far, NASA or any other agency involved with Sunita Williams’ Boeing Starliner program has not officially announced the impact of the incident on their spacecraft returning to Earth.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams boarded their Starliner spacecraft, a capsule built by Boeing that has been docked to the station since June 6 as part of its first crewed test mission.
Sunita Williams may have to wait months to return to Earth
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s space program was supposed to last a few days. But, their return flight on a Boeing Starliner is likely to be delayed by months, ANI reported.
The first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, carrying two astronauts, is expected to last just a few days, and is still uncertain, as no exact return to Earth has been announced.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich has said that the US space agency is considering extending the mission duration of Starliner from 45 days to 90 days, as reported by ANI citing CNN.
On Friday, Stich said NASA is considering extending the maximum duration of the Starliner mission from 45 days to 90 days and that no specific return date has been set yet, CNN reported.
Addressing a briefing on Friday, the NASA official said, “We’re just looking at the timelines to execute (the test in New Mexico) and then review the data.” He further added, “And that’s the biggest challenge, I would say, to determine the landing date.” Stich said, “We’re in no hurry to get back home.”
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Published: June 29, 2024, 11:01 AM IST
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