Two NASA Astronauts May Face Extended Stay in Space Until 2025 due to Unforeseen Circumstances

Thursday 8 August 2024 8:45, NG

Two NASA astronauts stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than two months could be forced to stay until February 2025 because of concerns over the safety of the spacecraft that brought them into orbit.

Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Sunita "Suni" Williams arrived at the ISS in June as the first crew to test Boeing's new Starliner.

NASA has yet to decide how to bring the pair back to Earth from the ISS and ground tests on the Starliner spacecraft have exposed the same flaws as those that happened during the flight to space.

In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. (NASA via AP)

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NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. File pic: NASA/AP

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Two NASA astronauts stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for more than two months could be forced to stay until February 2025 because of concerns over the safety of the spacecraft that brought them into orbit.

Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and pilot Sunita "Suni" Williams arrived at the ISS in June as the first crew to test Boeing's new Starliner.

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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video playerA United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying two astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT), is launched on a mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Steve Nesius1:18

Play Video - Watch Boeing's Starliner crewed launch

Watch Boeing's Starliner crewed launch

The US pair were expected to be back on Earth by now, but have been grounded by issues with the capsule, which suffered thruster failures before it docked - causing their mission to be extended indefinitely.

They may have to stay until February if NASA decides to bring them back on a SpaceX flight, rather than risk using the Starliner capsule.

That would mean they would watch from the space station as the Starliner is cut loose from the ISS to return to Earth without them.

Ken Bowersox, NASA's space operations mission chief, said the US space agency is looking more closely at SpaceX as a back-up, and "could take either path".

Mr Bowersox said during a recent meeting, they "heard from a lot of folks that had concern, and the decision was not clear".

A final decision is expected by mid-August.

It could have a knock-on effect on NASA's next SpaceX taxi flight in September, when two of the astronauts scheduled to fly may be left at home, so there is space for Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams on the return trip in February.

Three NASA astronauts and one Russian are assigned to the flight, but it's not known who could miss out.

Boeing has reiterated its capsule could still safely bring the astronauts home, but the company will need to modify Starliner's software in case it has to return without a crew.

NASA's commercial crew manager Steve Stich said they hadn't seriously thought about launching a separate SpaceX flight just to bring back Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams.

He said thruster problems have also happened during ground tests and engineers don't know why seals that swell when overheated then shrink back to their proper size.

All but one of the Starliner's five failed thrusters have since been reactivated in orbit.

Starliner needs them to back away from the space station following undocking and to keep the capsule in the proper position for the deorbit.

Technicians are also trying to plug helium leaks in Starliner's propulsion system, which is crucial for manoeuvring.

Lawsuit filed by family of French explorer killed in Titan sub implosion demands over $50 million in compensation.

The family of a French explorer who died in a submersible implosion has filed a more than $50 million lawsuit, saying the crew experienced “terror and mental anguish” before the disaster and accusing the sub’s operator of gross negligence.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet was among five people who died when the Titan submersible imploded during a voyage to the famed Titanic wreck site in the North Atlantic in June 2023. No one survived the trip aboard the experimental submersible owned by OceanGate, a company in Washington state that has since suspended operations.

Known as “Mr. Titanic,” Nargeolet participated in 37 dives to the Titanic site, the most of any diver in the world, according to the lawsuit. He was regarded as one of the world’s most knowledgeable people about the famous wreck. Attorneys for his estate said in an emailed statement that the “doomed submersible” had a “troubled history,” and that OceanGate failed to disclose key facts about the vessel and its durability.

According to the lawsuit, the Titan “dropped weights” about 90 minutes into its dive, indicating the team had aborted or attempted to abort the dive.

“While the exact cause of failure may never be determined, experts agree that the Titan’s crew would have realized exactly what was happening,” the lawsuit states. “Common sense dictates that the crew were well aware they were going to die, before dying.”

The lawsuit goes on to say: “The crew may well have heard the carbon fiber’s crackling noise grow more intense as the weight of the water pressed on Titan’s hull. The crew lost communications and perhaps power as well. By experts’ reckoning, they would have continued to descend, in full knowledge of the vessel’s irreversible failures, experiencing terror and mental anguish prior to the Titan ultimately imploding.”

A spokesperson for OceanGate declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in King County, Washington. The lawsuit describes Nargeolet as an employee of OceanGate and a crew member on the Titan.

The suit also criticizes Titan’s “hip, contemporary, wireless electronics system, and states that none of the controller, controls or gauges would work without a constant source of power and a wireless signal.

Though OceanGate designated Nargeolet as a member of the crew, "many of the particulars about the vessel’s flaws and shortcomings were not disclosed and were purposely concealed,” the attorneys, the Buzbee Law Firm of Houston, Texas, said in their statement.

Tony Buzbee, one of the attorneys on the case, said one of the suit's goals is to “get answers for the family as to exactly how this happened, who all were involved, and how those involved could allow this to happen.”

Concerns were raised in the aftermath of the disaster about whether the Titan was doomed due to its unconventional design and its creator’s refusal to submit to independent checks that are standard in the industry. Its implosion also raised questions about the viability and future of private deep-sea exploration.

The U.S. Coast Guard quickly convened a high-level investigation, which is ongoing. A key public hearing that is part of the investigation is scheduled to take place in September.

The Titan made its last dive on June 18, 2023, a Sunday morning, and lost contact with its support vessel about two hours later. After a search and rescue mission that drew attention around the world, the wreckage of the Titan was found on the ocean floor about 984 feet (300 meters) off the bow of the Titanic, about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

OceanGate CEO and cofounder Stockton Rush was operating the Titan when it imploded. In addition to Rush and Nargeolet, the implosion killed British adventurer Hamish Harding and two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood.

The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic is in the midst of its first voyage to the wreckage site in years. Last month, RMS Titanic Inc., a Georgia-based firm, launched its first expedition to the site since 2010 from Providence, Rhode Island.

Nargeolet was director of underwater research for RMS Titanic. One of the expeditions Nargeolet took was the first visit to the Titanic in 1987, shortly after its location was discovered, the lawsuit states. His estate's attorneys described him as a seasoned veteran of underwater exploration who would not have participated in the Titan expedition if the company had been more transparent.

The lawsuit blames the implosion on the “persistent carelessness, recklessness and negligence” of Oceangate, Rush and others.

“Decedent Nargeolet may have died doing what he loved to do, but his death — and the deaths of the other Titan crew members — was wrongful,” the lawsuit states.

(AP)

France aims to secure their first Olympic football gold in four decades as they face Spain in the final match.

Thierry Henry's France are hoping a home crowd at the Parc des Princes can drive them on to win Olympic men's football gold but an impressive Spain side will attempt to deny them in Friday's final.

Henry, a France legend as a player, has led his country to the brink of their second football gold medal, 40 years after they won the title in Los Angeles.

That victory over Brazil came just a few weeks after the full French national team lifted their first major trophy by beating Spain on home soil in the final of Euro 84.

Just like then, the nations will meet at a packed Parc des Princes on Friday when a hostile home support will try to spur France on to victory.

They have already effectively fulfilled their objective by being guaranteed a medal, with Henry succeeding in moulding together a cohesive team after initially being met by a series of rejections from clubs unwilling to release their players.

Clubs have no obligation to let their players take part in the Olympics, where the men's tournament is reserved for those aged under 23 with the exception of three who are over-age.

Kylian Mbappe, the captain of the senior national side, wanted to come but was not allowed by his new club Real Madrid. Hopes of getting Antoine Griezmann onboard were quickly dashed.

The new Juventus midfielder Khephren Thuram was initially in the squad before being obliged to return to his employer.

But Les Bleus have been expertly led by the experienced Alexandre Lacazette and his fellow forwards, the bruising Jean-Philippe Mateta and the flying Michael Olise.

They won all three group games without conceding a goal, before seeing off Argentina 1-0 in a fiery quarter-final and then showing great character to come from behind and beat Egypt 3-1 after extra time in the last four.

We have been talking about the Games for a year and a half now and finally we get to go to Paris," said Mateta, the Crystal Palace striker who netted twice against the Egyptians.

This may be the Paris Games, but so far Henry's team have played all their matches elsewhere around the country, in Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux and Lyon.

Glorious Spanish summer

Spain, meanwhile, began their campaign with a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in Paris. After easing past Japan in Lyon in the last eight, they had to come from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 in their semi-final in Marseille.

That victory in front of a hostile crowd, achieved thanks to goals by the outstanding Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez and the substitute Juanlu Sanchez, will give Spain confidence that they can handle the crowd and the pressure in the French capital.

"It's another atmosphere that I will like," Lopez, who has scored four goals at the Olympics after helping Spain win Euro 2024, told FIFA.com.

"In any situation, we can overcome anything. Now we want to get the gold."

Coached by the former Atletico Madrid defender Santi Denia, Spain are aiming for a second men's football gold after triumphing in Barcelona in 1992 with a squad including Pep Guardiola and Luis Enrique.

They were silver medallists in Tokyo three years ago, but Spain's record more recently across the board in international football is remarkable.

The men's senior side won the European Championship just last month, following on from the women's team triumphing at the World Cup last year.

Less than two weeks ago they were the winners of the Under-19 Euros, and now they can complete a glorious summer with gold.

(AFP)