Space
Starliner problems extend astronaut mission to ISS to 8 months
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are no strangers to spending extended periods of time away from their families. Both retired US Navy captains have faced war zones and are veterans of previous six-month stays on the International Space Station (ISS).
When they boarded Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024, Wilmore and Williams expected a mission of a few weeks, at most a month. The anticipated minimum duration was eight days, but NASA was prepared to approve a short extension.
This was a significant milestone, as they were the first astronauts to enter orbit on the Starliner, a feat that took around seven years to achieve.
Unfortunately, the Starliner test flight did not achieve all of its objectives. Wilmore and Williams, initially expected to return after three months, are now facing an eight-month mission on the ISS. Starliner presented several problems, culminating in NASA's decision to send the capsule back to Earth without the astronauts.