Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will be stuck at the International Space Station with two astronauts onboard for even longer than expected, as the company and NASA scrambles to fix issues with its thrusters and plug helium leaks.
Officials from the aerospace company and NASA announced on Tuesday that the spacecraft is now not expected to return until at least June 26. It had originally been scheduled to return on June 14, and was last week delayed through June 22.
The officials say they are spending the extra time to investigate five helium leaks in the propeller system as well as issues with several thrusters that are used to maneuver the spaceship.
But by June 26, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would have spent about 20 days in space – more than double the roughly eight days they had originally planned for.
The crew has at least four months of reserves for food and other consumable items, NASA officials have said.
波音公司的 Starliner 宇宙飞船载有两名宇航员，在国际空间站停留的时间将比预期更长，该公司和 NASA 正忙于解决推进器问题并堵住氦气泄漏。 这家航天公司和 NASA 的官员周二宣布，该航天器预计至少要到 6 月 26 日才能返回。航天器原定于 6 月 14 日返回，上周被推迟到 6 月 22 日。 官员们表示，他们需要额外时间来调查螺旋桨系统中的五处氦气泄漏以及用于驾驶飞船的几个推进器问题。到 6 月 26 日，宇航员布奇·威尔莫尔 (Butch Wilmore) 和苏尼·威廉姆斯 (Suni Williams) 将在太空中度过大约 20 天，是他们最初计划大约 8 天的两倍多。 美国宇航局官员表示，机组人员至少有四个月的食物和其他消耗品储备。
