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On July 10, astronauts Barry Wilmore (right) and Sunny Williams spoke while connected to the ground from the International Space Station.
Xinhua News Agency

On June 5, the "Starliner" was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base on a "Atlas 5" rocket. Xinhua News Agency

On June 5, the first manned test flight of the "Starliner" spacecraft was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida, USA, on an "Atlas 5" rocket, sending American astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunny Williams to the International Space Station. The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on June 6 and was originally scheduled to leave the space station and return to Earth on June 14, but due to problems such as thruster failure and helium leakage, the return time has been repeatedly postponed. To date, the two American astronauts are still stranded at the International Space Station, and the return date has not yet been determined.
NASA held a media conference call on July 10, during which the two astronauts said they believed the Boeing spacecraft could bring them back to Earth safely.
But when is their return date?

1.
Astronauts confident of return

Astronaut Suni Williams, who is trapped in space, has participated in seven space station missions. Before this "flight", she had stayed in space for a total of 322 days. Williams is also the female astronaut who has stayed in the space station for the longest time, and she has stayed there for 195 days at a time. In 2007, she successfully completed a "marathon" on the treadmill of the International Space Station, which took a total of 4 hours and 24 minutes. Previously, her performance on the ground was 3 hours and 29 minutes.
Wilmore is also a veteran of two space flights. He has previously spent a total of 178 days in space and has performed many spacewalks.
Despite being stranded on the space station for more than a month, the two astronauts are still confident about returning to Earth. In a media conference call, Williams said: "I have a good feeling that this spacecraft will take us home."
Wilmore said: “We absolutely
"We have confidence in the ability to conduct thruster tests right now in New Mexico," he said. "We're going to learn from this. We're going to put in place new processes, new procedures. We're going to put in place those processes and procedures where necessary."
Williams also said she and Wilmore enjoyed their time in space.
"We're having a great time here at the ISS," she said. "I've been here before and it feels like home, it feels good to be floating. I'm not complaining and Barry isn't complaining about us staying here a few extra weeks."

2
How long will it take to "go home"?

To be safe, Steve Stick, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said the team had "reworked" plans originally developed when a coolant leak occurred on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that was carrying U.S. astronaut Frank Rubio to the space station.
In that accident, American astronaut Frank Rubio, Russian astronauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petrin arrived at the International Space Station in September 2022. The mission was originally scheduled for about 180 days. However, due to a coolant leak in the spacecraft that took them back to Earth, the three were forced to stay in space for 371 days. In the end, Russia launched another spacecraft to successfully bring them back to Earth.
Stick said at a media conference call held by NASA on July 10 that the ground test data is still being analyzed. Although the return plan has not been finalized, the best plan is still to send the two astronauts back to Earth by the "Starliner". Optimistically, they can return in late July, but it may also be mid-August.

3
The space station has no worries about food and drink for the time being

Having lived in the space station for an extra month, the two people consumed extra food and air in the space station. Does this have any impact on the other people in the space station? The answer is that the space station has no worries about food and drink for the time being.
There are currently 9 astronauts on the space station performing flight missions, and they consume about 5,000 liters of oxygen every day. This oxygen is produced by electrolyzing water, and energy is continuously generated. The space station has a large area of ​​solar panels, and sunlight shining on the panels can generate enough electricity to support the electrolysis of water.
Theoretically, 1 liter of water can be electrolyzed to produce about 620 liters of oxygen, which is enough for one astronaut to use for one day. In other words, only 8-9 liters of water need to be electrolyzed to produce enough oxygen for nine astronauts. The water in the International Space Station is recycled, including the urine produced by astronauts, which can be recycled again after being treated by a purifier. All this water can be used to electrolyze and produce oxygen.
Generally speaking, every three months or so, Russia will launch a Progress cargo spacecraft to deliver supplies to the International Space Station, and the United States will also launch a Dragon spacecraft for resupply. During the resupply process, supplies including food and water will be sent to the International Space Station. Therefore, the supplies in the International Space Station are actually sufficient for use, and there will be no shortage of oxygen.
West China Metropolis Daily-Cover News reporter Yan Wenwen intern Wu Yijun

Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency