NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore jet off towards the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 onboard a Boeing Starliner. Wilmore and Williams's scheduled return to Earth has been called off multiple times due to a series of helium leaks.
Amid growing concerns about the safe return from space of Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague, stuck in the International Space Station, the duo will address Earth live on Wednesday, July 10, at 11 AM EDT (IST 8.30 pm) where they are expected to discuss the crew's mission.
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore jet off towards the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 onboard a Boeing Starliner. Wilmore and Williams were scheduled to return to Earth via the Starliner on June 22. That was deferred to June 26, and then pushed back again last week to an undetermined date.
The delay in astronauts' return to earth is reportedly due to a series of helium leaks on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft which NASA engineers are working to fix.
The Boeing Starliner can reportedly spend up to 45 days docked to the space station. With over 35 days having passed, the spacecraft has around 10 days to return safely to Earth.
A new date for their return is yet to be announced.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore will be discussing their mission "during an Earth to space call" at 11 am EDT Wednesday, July 10 (IST 8.30 pm).
"NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will participate in the news conference from aboard the International Space Station in low Earth orbit."
NASA will stream the event on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, NASA YouTube channel, and the agency’s website.
As of now, there reportedly are nine members at the International Space Station. Sunita Williams helped dissemble and empty racks for future missions while Wilmore held load trash and discarded gear inside the Cygnus spacecraft, reports said.