As Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague astronaut Butch Wilmore are stuck at the International Space Station owing to multiple technical issues in Starliner, embattled Boeing has again come under fire as its two 737 Max crashes have not rightfully slipped into oblivion. After causing deaths of 5779 on Earth, Boeing sent the two astronauts to Space despite knowing the flaws of Starliner.
“At this point I wouldn’t even trust a PB&J sandwich made by Boeing,” an X by a social media user went viral after the latest glitch news of Starliner. “At this point, I don’t think @Boeing can even spell “PB&J”,” wrote another user.
“At this point I wouldn’t even trust a PB&J sandwich made by Boeing,” an X by a social media user went viral after the latest glitch news of Starliner. “At this point, I don’t think @Boeing can even spell “PB&J”,” wrote another user.
Starliner’s troubled journey: Here’s what we know so far
- Boeing’s Starliner faced numerous setbacks in the last six years, delaying the project. Finally, Nasa approved the launch though it put no end to the troubles, the journey only began.
- The first-ever crewed launch of Starliner was supposed to be launched in May and then on June 1 but was halted a few minutes from liftoff and a June 2 launch window bypassed.
- The launch finally took place on June 5
- Initially, Starliner was planned to return on June 13. Now after several delays, no date has been given
- Nasa was aware of the helium leak but considered it too minor to pose a safety risk. Afdter reaching the orbit, the spacecraft developed four additional helium leaks making one thruster unusable.
- The delay is attributed to several helium leaks discovered on Boeing’s Starliner The space agency further said that astronauts Wilmore and Sunita Williams can undock from the space station and return to Earth if needed. They are not “stranded”, but are staying in orbit beyond their scheduled return to allow mission teams adequate time to analyse propulsion system data.
‘When will Elon Musk step in’
Social media users are also raising questions as to when Elon Musk would step in to rescue Starliner as Elon Musk’s SpaceX could send a Crew Dragon Spacecraft to provide an alternative return to Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. But there is no docking port available for Space Dragon.
