Two NASA astronauts trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) since June have been dealt another blow as their rescue mission is delayed once again.
Veteran astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the ISS aboard Boeing’s doomed Starliner capsule with plans to stay only eight days.
In an initial delay, the couple were told they would return home along with two other astronauts in February.
However, they have now learned that they will be stuck in space until March at the earliest, 10 months after they first left home.
Since the Starliner capsule returned empty to Earth in September, the couple has no choice but to wait for more help to arrive from SpaceX.
The latest delay will give SpaceX more time to prepare its new capsule for takeoff.
Steve Stich, director of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, says: “The manufacturing, assembly, testing and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking task that requires great attention to detail.”
This is how the daring rescue mission will work.
Astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) were only supposed to spend a week in space, but now they have been told their excruciating wait will last at least another month.
Mission Commander Williams and Flight Engineer Wilmore took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5 for a test flight of Boeing’s new Starliner capsule.
The plan was to take Starliner out of the atmosphere, perform some test maneuvers and dock with the ISS for an eight-day stay before returning to Earth in the same capsule.
However, almost immediately things began to go wrong for the problem-plagued capsule when the craft experienced propellant failures and a helium leak.
While Williams and Wilmore were safely delivered to the ISS, by the time Starliner arrived, more helium leaks had occurred and five of its 28 boosters had failed.
After weeks of testing, NASA made the decision that it was not safe for astronauts to return aboard the Starliner as originally planned.
In September, Starliner was sent back to Earth empty and landed in New Mexico after slowing its descent with a parachute.
That choice left the Boeing test team trapped aboard the ISS without their vehicle until they could send someone to look for them.
In a humiliating blow to Boeing, NASA hired the company’s archrival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to carry out rescue efforts.
Williams and Wilmore blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in June aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The plan was to perform a test flight, dock with the ISS, and then return home after eight days.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was plagued by technical problems even before its launch. By the time it reached the ISS it had produced more helium leaks and five of its 28 boosters had failed.
Starliner (pictured) was sent back to Earth empty in September after NASA decided it was not safe enough to pilot.
In September, shortly after Starliner’s return, NASA’s Crew 9 mission launched from Florida aboard a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule.
Two members of the mission’s original crew stayed on Earth, freeing up a seat for Williams and Wilmore.
Crew 9 arrived safely at the ISS, but the stranded Boeing astronauts still cannot leave the station until a replacement crew arrives.
According to the original plan, NASA would send the four astronauts of Crew 10 to the ISS in a new SpaceX Dragon capsule in February of next year.
After a “handover period” to help Crew 10 get underway, Williams, Wilmore, and members of Crew 9 would return to Earth in their original capsule at the end of the month.
However, NASA has now revealed that the new SpaceX capsule will not be ready in time to meet that deadline.
The capsule is not expected to arrive at the company’s processing facility in Florida until early January and will still need more than a month of testing before it is ready.
NASA now aims to launch the rescue team no sooner than the end of March 2025, meaning Williams and Wilmore might not return to Earth until April.
Six months later, Williams and Wilmore are now working as part of the ISS crew while awaiting rescue. A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft arrived in September with two free seats for the couple to return, but they cannot leave until a relief team arrives at the end of March.
Stich says: “We appreciate the hard work done by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station schedule and expedition crews as we work together to complete the preparation of the new capsule for the flight”.
NASA says it considered several alternative options, including using another Dragon spacecraft, but concluded this would be the best option.
The space agency maintains that the ISS is well equipped with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing and oxygen, and adds that a recent resupply even brought in some “special items” to help celebrate the holidays.
But now that Williams and Wilmore are scheduled for a 10-month stay in space, there are growing concerns about potential health impacts.
Last month, images of mission commander Williams looking emaciated sparked concerns that she may be suffering from excessive weight loss or malnutrition.
Dr David Shaker, an internist at Holy Name Physicians in Hackensack, New Jersey, previously told MailOnline: “This, to me, looks like low nutrition, low calorie intake.”
While in microgravity, astronauts are at high risk of muscle deterioration, as their bodies no longer need to strain against the force of gravity.
This means that the ISS crew must spend at least two hours a day exercising on specially designed “weight-lifting” machines, treadmills, and stationary bikes to maintain their muscles.
Since then, photographs of mission commander Williams have raised health concerns due to her “emaciated” appearance. Williams maintains that he has actually gained weight while in space and that his unusual appearance is due to “fluid shift.”
After all that work, an astronaut can burn up to 3,500 calories per day while living on the station.
However, the physiological and psychological effects of life in space often lead to a reduced appetite that can make it difficult for astronauts to eat enough.
An anonymous NASA employee told the New York Post that Williams has been struggling to keep up with the high-calorie diets astronauts must consume.
Despite these claims, Williams says his unusually thin appearance is due to “fluid displacement” within the body caused by microgravity.
In space, the distribution of fluids in the body changes, which can swell astronauts’ faces and give them an unusual appearance.
Recently, mission commander Williams responded to suggestions of malnutrition and even says she has gained weight since arriving on station.
“My thighs are a little bigger, my butt is a little bigger,” she said in one video.
But with at least three more months aboard the ISS ahead, NASA will be watching closely to ensure Williams and Willmore stay healthy until they can finally return home.
EXPLAINED: THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IS LOCATED 250 MILES ABOVE EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory orbiting 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth.
Since November 2000, it has permanently staffed rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts.
The crews come mainly from the United States and Russia, but the Japanese space agency JAXA and the European space agency ESA have also sent astronauts.
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has been exhausted with the addition of multiple new modules and systems upgrades.
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, biological sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
US space agency NASA spends around $3bn (£2.4bn) a year on the space station programme, with the rest of the funding coming from international partners including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far, 244 people from 19 countries have visited the station, including eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million on their visit.
There is ongoing debate over the future of the station beyond 2025, when it is believed that part of the original structure will reach the “end of its useful life”.
Russia, a major partner of the station, plans to launch its own orbital platform by then, and Axiom Space, a private company, plans to send its own modules for purely commercial use to the station at the same time.
NASA, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working together to build a space station in orbit around the Moon, and Russia and China are working on a similar project, which would also include a base on the surface .