Can ISRO Save Sunita Williams? Exploring Her Space Legacy and Current Crisis

Last updated on August 26th, 2024 at 10:21 am

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams went to space in June 2023 on a mission with a plan to come back next week but has since then been hanging there because of the faulty Boeing Starliner Spacecraft.

Nasa is now exploring ways to bring back the Indian Origin Astronaut as she has been there for two months now. In relation to this, the ISRO Chief was asked if the Indian Space Research Organisation could help in this matter. Replying to this, Chief S Somenath said, only Russia and the USA could help  bring her back to Earth.

The Chief was quoted saying, “Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do directly from India to bring her back at this moment. We don’t have the capability to send a craft to rescue her. The only potential solutions would come from either Russia or the USA. The US has the Crew Dragon vehicle and Russia has the Soyuz, both of which could be used for a rescue mission.”

Rumours are spreading that NASA scientists and astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are stranded in space after going on a mission. When asked if this is a matter of concern, ISRO chief Somenath went on to say, “I don’t believe that the situation is extremely critical as of now. The Boeing Starliner did show some anomalies, which is why they are being cautious now. The Starliner had issues before the launch, leading to postponements. Finally they decided to go ahead but now are worried about the way back, as that is more dangerous than the launch itself.”

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The major issue in the Starliner was the faulty propulsion system. The agency is now considering bringing the stranded astronauts back through Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX Program’s Crew – 9 mission and is in talks with him to schedule the launch by late September but that would mean Williams and Wilmore will touch Earth’s greenery by early 2025.

But the time factor is a key issue in this matter and if not hurried then we can see the Crew Dragon being deployed to bring the duo back.

About Sunita Williams and her Illustrious Career;