More than two months have passed since NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing’s Starliner, which encountered technical problems during flight. When they arrived in early June, there were already seven astronauts on the station.
During the mission, Starliner discovered a helium leak that forced a delay in the crew’s return until 2025, far exceeding the planned eight-day mission. This caused a number of inconveniences for Wilmore and Williams. In particular, sleeping conditions became problematic. Williams is extra lucky because she’s settling into the CASA sleeping compartment in the European Space Agency’s Columbus module. But Wilmore has had to settle for a sleeping bag attached to the wall in the Japanese Space Agency’s Kibo module.
“Butch is going to have to rough it a little bit,” Williams joked in an interview with Time.
However, sleep problems were only part of the tests. Initially, their main purpose was to test Starliner systems in detail, including communications, life support and other critical functions. After completing these tasks, and due to further technical malfunctions that delayed their return until February, Wilmore and Williams became an integral part of the ISS crew. They were involved in a variety of tasks and scientific experiments, including the complex repair of a urine recycling pump, a key part of the station’s life support system.
In addition, the astronauts faced the problem of limited clothing supplies. There is no laundry service on the ISS, so the crew usually takes enough clothes for the duration of the mission. Because of repeated delays in their return, Wilmore and Williams had to economize on clothing until a Northrop Grumman mission earlier this month delivered new clothes to them.
Life on the ISS has always presented challenges, but for Wilmore and Williams, those challenges were intensified by the inadequacies of Boeing’s Starliner. Their planned week-long mission has turned into an extended stay filled with unexpected difficulties and challenges that they courageously overcome.
We previously reported on how the Boeing Starliner was twice as expensive as the SpaceX Crew Dragon and caused $1.6 billion in losses.
