Tag Archives: Astronauts’
NASA Astronauts, SOHO Spacecraft Snap New Images of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
NASA Space Technology A bright comet from the Oort cloud named C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is passing by Earth and will be visible through the second half of October 2024.This image, taken by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) on October 10, 2024, shows comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS and its bright tail streaming from the upper left to the right; Mercury appears as a bright dot on the left. Image credit: ESA / NASA.Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was discovered by astronomers at the Purple Mountain Observatory in China on January 9, 2023.Otherwise known as C/2023 A3, the comet was independently spotted by ATLAS in South Africa on February 22, 2023.It orbits the Sun on a retrograde orbit, lying at an inclination of 139°.It had its perihelion on September 27, 2024, at a distance of 0.391 AU; the closest approach...
NASA astronauts can’t wear Boeing Starliner spacesuits in SpaceX’s Dragon. Here’s why
NASA Space Technology NASA astronauts Suni Williams (foreground) and Butch Wilmore wearing Boeing spacesuits in the Starliner spacecraft simulator at NASA's Johnson Space Center during emergency training on Nov. 3, 2022.(Image credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz)In the unlikely event a space emergency arises on the space station in the near future, two astronauts will have to ride home without spacesuits.Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is set to depart the International Space Station (ISS) empty no earlier than tomorrow (Sept. 6). It carried NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams up to the ISS and was expected to bring them home in Boeing-made spacesuits. But after Starliner's propulsion system acted up during docking with the ISS June 6, NASA eventually concluded that putting the astronauts on board for a return would be too much of a risk.For a few weeks,...
Two astronauts are stranded in space. This one is jealous.
NASA Space Technology Most people are now probably familiar with the story: Two American astronauts were sent to space on an eight-day test mission on a new Boeing spacecraft in June. Now, nearly three months later, NASA announced that they’ll bring the astronauts back on a SpaceX Dragon capsule — which will not arrive until February 2025 for the return flight.Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, both veteran Navy pilots, rode in the Boeing Starliner capsule’s first crewed flight to the International Space Station on June 5. But problems with helium leaks and thruster failures were subsequently discovered and have kept the astronauts in space conducting tests to determine whether the Starliner could bring them safely back to Earth.NASA now says that it would be safer for the pair to hitch a ride back...
NASA decides to keep 2 astronauts, including Needham native, in space until February, nixes return on troubled Boeing capsule
NASA Space Technology Skip to Main ContentNational NewsIn this image from video provided by NASA, astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore give a news conference aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. NASA via APBy MARCIA DUNN, Associated Press August 25, 2024 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA decided Saturday it’s too risky to bring two astronauts back to Earth in Boeing’s troubled new capsule, and they’ll have to wait until next year for a ride home with SpaceX. What should have been a weeklong test flight for the pair will now last more than eight months.The seasoned pilots have been stuck at the International Space Station since the...
