NASA’s Starliners don’t feel let down by Boeing
STANDED NASA astronauts say being stuck in space is just part of the job: The Boeing Starliner, a recent case study
The astronauts who were stuck on the International Space Station for technical issues with their ships are still positive, even though they’re voting in November, they said in a call to the media.
“We are pushing the edges of the envelope in everything that we do. “And it is not easy,” the mission commander said. It is not easy, but that is not why we do it. Maybe we do it because it’s hard.”
Their extended stay in space was caused by technical issues with their ship, the Boeing Starliner, during what was initially supposed to be a final test flight before the Starliner would be certified by NASA for regular use in missions.
The Boeing spaceship Starliner made a safe landing in the New Mexico desert after being deemed unsafe to have Williams and Wilmore return to Earth.
The problem with the Boeing Starliner is the latest in a series of PR blows to the aerospace juggernaut, which in addition to spacecraft also produces commercial airplanes.
Boeing has had its reputation damaged by the two crashes of the 737 MAX which killed hundreds of passengers and made it public that they were not doing enough to keep passengers safe.
Source: Stranded NASA astronauts say being stuck in space is just part of the job
The Nasa astronauts’ experience on the International Space Station: a joyful and happy place for them and for the family and friends of their father, Suni Williams
He said that the Williams NASA shirt represented something that they stood for as an agency. We go beyond. We do things that are out of the ordinary. We send humans to space.”
While they missed their families and friends, the space flight veterans had a good time as members of the crew, and they were enjoying their time on the space station
The astronauts will not be able to vote on Election Day, but that won’t deter them from taking part. “It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens, and [we’re] looking forward to being able to vote from space, which is pretty cool,” Williams said.
Neither astronaut expressed dismay at being aboard ISS longer. “Space is my happy place,” Williams said, ”…every day you do something that’s ‘work’ — you can do it upside down, you can do it sideways, so it adds a little different perspective.”
The International Space Station is home to two NASA astronauts: Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. The two are now in the middle of the crew, as the Boeing Starliner that was supposed to bring them home last week was sent back to Earth.
There were issues with the Starliner that caused NASA to not fly it back with the two aboard. But Wilmore said that with more time, “we could have gotten to the point, I believe, where we could have returned on Starliner. We simply ran out of time. Instead, the two have become part of the ISS crew.
NASA and Axiom: How easy is it to be a mission in space? (It isn’t easy)
“This operation is not easy. NASA does a great job — the people at Nasa do a great job — of making a lot of things look easy. Sending probes beyond the edge of our solar system; going in [and] getting samples from asteroids; humans in space. Things do not always turn out the way you think they will.
