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.
由於持續存在技術問題，波音(NYSE:BA)的Starliner航天器兩名宇航員50天后的返回仍不確定。
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.
發生了什麼事:”我們在相對於返回日期沒有重大的公告。我們正在取得很好的進展，但我們還沒有準備好，”NASA商業載人計劃經理史蒂夫·斯蒂奇（Steve Stich） 在週三表示。
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.
宇航員Sunita Williams和Butch Wilmore自6月初起已經一直在國際空間站。起初預計將在6月14日返回，但由於與Starliner航天器對接過程中發現氦系統泄漏和推進器性能問題，返程日期一再延遲。
NASA is currently trying to study the risks associated with these issues before returning the astronauts.
NASA目前正試圖研究與這些問題相關的風險，才會決定宇航員何時返回。
"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.
“擁有Dragon和Starliner兩種不同的多樣化的航天運輸系統的美妙之處在於，我們可以將它們用作備份。有一天，Starliner可以成爲龍任務的備用品...如果Starliner不行，”斯蒂奇說，暗示有可能借助SpaceX的Dragon航天器幫助返回宇航員。
The focus, however, is returning the two astronauts on Starliner, he added, while refusing to provide a timeline for the return.
他補充說，雖然拒絕爲返回時間表提供時間表，但重點仍然是讓兩個宇航員使用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.
爲什麼這很重要：波音的Starliner航天器自一開始就困擾着幾次推遲。該航天器原計劃在2015年進行首次無人駕駛試飛，但推遲到了2019年。航天器隨後未能實現預期軌道。2022年，該航天器完成了首次成功發射到國際空間站的無人駕駛飛行。
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.
如果正在進行的載人試飛成功，波音將成爲下一家爲NASA接送航天員往返於ISS的私人公司，就像埃隆·馬斯克的SpaceX一樣。
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分別授予波音和SpaceX公司任務合同，以便航天飛機退役後爲國際空間站提供交通運輸服務。SpaceX在2020年的一次Dragon太空船的首次載人任務中將它的首批宇航員送往了國際空間站，此後進行了多次任務，超過了它的傳統競爭對手。
Check out more of Benzinga's Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
通過以下鏈接查看更多財經新聞《Benzinga智庫：移動出行未來》
Read More:
更多閱讀：
- Elon Musk's SpaceX To Resume Launch Operations Two Weeks After Mishap Involving 20 Starlink Satellites
- 埃隆·馬斯克的SpaceX將在20顆Starlink衛星失誤兩週後恢復發射運營
Photos courtesy: Shutterstock and NASA
圖片由Shutterstock和美國國家航空航天局提供。
譯文內容由第三人軟體翻譯。