Return Of Astronauts Aboard Boeing's Starliner Uncertain Even After 50 Days Of Launch: NASA Hints At Possibility Of Using SpaceX's Dragon Spacecraft To Bring Them Back
Return Of Astronauts Aboard Boeing's Starliner Uncertain Even After 50 Days Of Launch: NASA Hints At Possibility Of Using SpaceX's Dragon Spacecraft To Bring Them Back
The return of two astronauts aboard Boeing's (NYSE:BA) Starliner spacecraft remains uncertain 50 days past launch due to ongoing technical issues.
由于持续存在技术问题，波音(NYSE:BA)的Starliner航天器两名宇航员50天后的返回仍不确定。
What Happened: "We don't have a major announcement today relative to a return date. We are making great progress but we are just not quite ready to do that," NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said on Wednesday.
发生了什么事:”我们在相对于返回日期没有重大的公告。我们正在取得很好的进展，但我们还没有准备好，”NASA商业载人计划经理史蒂夫·斯蒂奇（Steve Stich） 在周三表示。
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been at the International Space Station since early June. They were initially estimated to return on June 14 but the return dates have been delayed time and again owing to issues of helium system leaks and thruster performance identified with the Starliner spacecraft while docking with ISS.
宇航员Sunita Williams和Butch Wilmore自6月初起已经一直在国际空间站。起初预计将在6月14日返回，但由于与Starliner航天器对接过程中发现氦系统泄漏和推进器性能问题，返程日期一再延迟。
NASA is currently trying to study the risks associated with these issues before returning the astronauts.
NASA目前正试图研究与这些问题相关的风险，才会决定宇航员何时返回。
"The beauty of having Dragon and Starliner and two different diverse space transportation systems is we can kind of use those as backups. Someday, Starliner could be a backup to a dragon mission...," Stich said, hinting at a possibility of returning the astronauts with the help of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in case the Starliner can't.
“拥有Dragon和Starliner两种不同的多样化的航天运输系统的美妙之处在于，我们可以将它们用作备份。有一天，Starliner可以成为龙任务的备用品...如果Starliner不行，”斯蒂奇说，暗示有可能借助SpaceX的Dragon航天器帮助返回宇航员。
The focus, however, is returning the two astronauts on Starliner, he added, while refusing to provide a timeline for the return.
他补充说，虽然拒绝为返回时间表提供时间表，但重点仍然是让两个宇航员使用Starliner返回。
Why It Matters: Boeing's Starliner spacecraft has been marred by several delays since the start. The spacecraft was supposed to have its first uncrewed test flight in 2015 which was delayed up to 2019. The spacecraft then failed to achieve its intended orbit. In 2022, the spacecraft completed its first successful uncrewed flight to the International Space Station.
为什么这很重要：波音的Starliner航天器自一开始就困扰着几次推迟。该航天器原计划在2015年进行首次无人驾驶试飞，但推迟到了2019年。航天器随后未能实现预期轨道。2022年，该航天器完成了首次成功发射到国际空间站的无人驾驶飞行。
If the ongoing crewed flight test is successful, Boeing will become the next private company to shuttle astronauts to and from the ISS for NASA, like Elon Musk's SpaceX.
如果正在进行的载人试飞成功，波音将成为下一家为NASA接送航天员往返于ISS的私人公司，就像埃隆·马斯克的SpaceX一样。
NASA awarded both Boeing and SpaceX contracts to enable transportation to and from the ISS after retiring its space shuttle. SpaceX sent its first crewed mission to the ISS in 2020 on its Dragon spacecraft and has since then undertaken multiple missions, overtaking its traditional rival.
更早之前，NASA分别授予波音和SpaceX公司任务合同，以便航天飞机退役后为国际空间站提供交通运输服务。SpaceX在2020年的一次Dragon太空船的首次载人任务中将它的首批宇航员送往了国际空间站，此后进行了多次任务，超过了它的传统竞争对手。
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通过以下链接查看更多财经新闻《Benzinga智库：移动出行未来》
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- Elon Musk's SpaceX To Resume Launch Operations Two Weeks After Mishap Involving 20 Starlink Satellites
- 埃隆·马斯克的SpaceX将在20颗Starlink卫星失误两周后恢复发射运营
Photos courtesy: Shutterstock and NASA
图片由Shutterstock和美国国家航空航天局提供。