MELBOURNE: NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were meant to go to the International Space Station (ISS) on a roughly 10-day mission. Instead, they have been “stuck” there since June, as the reliability of their spacecraft - Boeing Starliner - has not met NASA’s strict standards for crewed flight.
After two months of testing, NASA has now made the call that Starliner will return to Earth in September without astronauts aboard.
This will enable both NASA and Boeing to monitor the craft carefully as it separates from the ISS and makes its way home. Because human life is part of the equation, the data gathered from this flight will inform required changes for Starliner to be certified for crewed flight.
As for Wilmore and Williams, they will remain aboard the ISS until February 2025, replacing two of the upcoming Crew 9 astronauts.
With the ISS only operating for another five to six years, Boeing’s role in the programme now remains unclear. CNA
Why is NASA crazy in pushing for the building of spacecraft to the ISS? Alright, at least they are not pushing to develop spacecraft to the moon. They know they did not have the ability to do that. Jim Free, NASA's Executive Director said, space travel is a risky business, after the failure of the Boeing Starliner to bring back the two astronauts from the ISS. Maybe this Jim Free was born after the American moon landing and did not know the Americans were visiting the moon every weekend for picnics. Either he did not know about the super feats of the Americans landing on the moon, or he did know something that the world did not know.
NASA and Boeing's goals are now more restrained and humble, just try to get their astronauts to the ISS first. But this seems to be a very difficult task to do. Boeing spent US$6b and failed miserably. The two astronauts would be stranded till next February. Hopefully the ISS does not break up or malfunction during this period or they would have to stay in space forever. The reckless Americans have already overextended the lifespan of ISS by 5 years and are pushing it further back by another 5 years for decommissioning. They are praying very hard that the valves would not leak and the material that made up the ISS would stay together by then and not break into pieces.
By 2030, if the Americans did not push the date further back, the ISS would be no more. What is the use of NASA and Boeing for developing spacecraft that have no where to go? Where would all the American astronauts be flying to? Where would all the astronauts of American cronies fly to?
Their best hope is for the leaders in China to be stupid enough to welcome the Americans into the Tiangong Space Station. The weird thinking of Chinese leaders may really make this come true. All it needs is a few sweet words or lies from the Americans about how good the American China relations are and they would go ga ga. They would forget that they were booted out of the ISS programme, humiliated, banned and blocked from access to space technology and the ISS.
They would even forget that the Americans are terrorists with one goal, to bring own China. And having the terrorists and their cronies in China's Tiangong Space Station is as good as inviting the saboteurs on board. Count on the Chinese to do just that. This may be the reason why NASA and Boeing are still continuing to develop spacecraft that can bring astronauts to the Tiangong Space Station, as the ISS would not be around. In the meantime NASA is trying to push everyone into the ISS in a crash programme while the ISS is still around, risking the lives of astronauts that could be stuck up there for life.
Would China do the ridiculous and the bizarre.... to allow American terrorists and their crony terrorists into the Tiangong Space Station, to blow it up? It would be so easy, cutting a wire or losing a nut would be good enough for the job.
PS. Point to note, since the fake moon landings, NASA was unable to make any progress and all it could do was to send astronauts to the ISS. Even this, NASA failed badly. So, the only 'great works' of NASA were to publish photoshop pictures of Mars and outer space that no one can prove they are real or fakes. And without anything real to show, no more funding for NASA to build another space station. Also don't have the technology if the Russians are not going to help.
China is now so far ahead in terms of space technology with moon station by 2030.
The USA vis a vis NASA are even talking about discovering other planets to occupy in case earth becomes inhospitable due to climate change, nuclear war or asteroid disaster that was said to have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs and other life forms.
ReplyDeleteTalk seems as easy as winning trade wars, technology wars or erecting sanctions to collapse targeted countries. In theory it should work like a charm. In reality, achieving the objective is not that easy.
Going to and from the ISS is already a big hurdle for NASA, not to talk about landing on the moon. It is more like inventing the wheel after losing the blueprints, LOL. A lame excuse indeed! Going for interplanetary travel is taking the joke too far.
Russia or China could have been counted upon to help in rescuing the two stranded astronauts. But the USA burned the bridges long ago by forbidding China to participate in the research on the ISS and banning China from setting foot on the ISS. Russia is not going to help either, after what is going on in Ukraine. It would be like giving the right cheek for the USA to slap and turning the other cheek to be slapped as well. Nothing of that is going to happen.
Let the rescue fiasco carrying on developing to show the real capability of the USA, NASA and also Boeing. A couple of days holiday for the two astronauts turned into months. Wonder whether they will survive, with the ISS an abandoned Russian asset being given an extended lifespan in the control of unsure hands. Had the Russians still been on board, the rescue would have been a walk in the park. There would not even have been a hiccup in the first place.
The sickest country on earth's claim is like a paraplegic announcing he's going to break Usain Bolt's 100m record. Wonder what drugs they're taking? So far no purple faces.
DeleteHope they bought travel insurance from NTUC, and don't forget to claim for flight delay as well as additional expenses for prolonged stay. Not to forget salary loss for doing nothing except looking into space.
ReplyDeleteWhen the two do come back, they will make a song and dance about it. See, such a difficult rescue and they pulled it off. USA has won the space race now.
ReplyDelete