Outlook Web Desk
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore jet off towards the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 onboard a Boeing Starliner
Wilmore and Williams were scheduled to return to Earth via the Starliner on June 22. That was deferred to June 26, and then pushed back again on Friday to an undetermined date
The delay in astronauts' return to earth is reportedly due to a series of helium leaks on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft which NASA engineers are working to fix
Amid reports that the astronauts are 'stranded' in space with the spacecraft having only 27 days of fuel left, NASA said they could undock and fly home at any time if deemed necessary.
NASA said Wilmore and Williams are not "stranded". They are being kept in orbit passed their planned return to "allow mission teams time to review propulsion system data," as per a NewsWeek report citing NASA
The Starliner can spend up to 45 days docked to the space station. With 19 days having passed, the spacecraft has 26 days to return safely to Earth
Sunita (Suni) L. Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998 and is a veteran of two space missions, Expeditions 14/15 and 32/33. Crew Flight Test mission involving Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is her third
Barry "Butch" Wilmore, 61, is a NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy test pilot who is acting as the commander of Starliner. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2000.
The delay in return of Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore have triggered haunting memories of Indian-origin astronaut Kalpana Chawla's fate in space
Kalpana Chawla, first Indian-born woman to go to space in 1997, died when the space shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board