For 52 days and counting, Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams is in limbo at the International Space Station, but in a new video, she is seen celebrating the Olympics spirit in the weightless atmosphere, 400 kilometres above Paris.
She can be seen grabbing an electronic version of the Olympic torch, performing gymnastic steps and doing somersaults inside the space station. Other astronauts are seen throwing discus, shot put balls and trying weightlifting manoeuvres in space where gravity is near zero.
"Let the games begin! Athletes from across the world are gathering today to kick off the 2024 #Olympics - pushing boundaries and inspiring generations. If you were an Olympic athlete, which sport would you play?," NASA has tweeted, sharing a video of astronauts inside the space station.
The astronauts sent their 'Godspeed' wishes to the athletes who will perform in tough competitive sports under actual gravity conditions. The nine astronauts on-board the space station continue their scientific work and are safe, says NASA.
In a separate update, the American space agency officials today said they conducted a 'hot test' on the troubled spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, where the malfunctioning thrusters or rockets were tested while still being docked to the space station. "The thrusters performed at peak thrust rating values and the helium system remained stable." The world hopes that the Starliner could well return safely and soon.
Astronaut Sunita Williams and her crewmate Butch Wilmore reached the International Space Station on June 6 on a 10-day mission, but have been stuck after the Starliner malfunctioned. They do not know when and how they will return to Earth, though the US space agency asserts she and the eight other astronauts on-board the International Space Station are safe and in "good spirits".
In the new video, Sunita Williams and her fellow astronauts are seen playing sports in the weightless atmosphere to send good wishes to the athletes participating in the Paris Olympics.
The 59-year-old Navy test pilot looks fit and in great spirits. She has helped design the Boeing Starliner and flew as its pilot on the maiden crewed test mission.
NASA has suggested that they are close to understanding the root cause of what is wrong with the Boeing Starliner's malfunctioning systems, but has given no clarity on when Williams and her crew mate Butch Wilmore will return.
According to Boeing, the Starliner can remain docked with the space station for a maximum period of ninety days, after which the batteries on board this spacecraft may drain out. This means that the space technologists in the US have less than six weeks to determine if Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return on the handicapped Boeing Starliner spacecraft or on SpaceX's Crew Dragon or Russian Soyuz spacecraft. These standby vehicles are already docked to the space station, so Sunita Williams and the other eight astronauts are not really stranded in space.
Boeing has faced several hiccups in the Starliner development. Initially, it was to have completed this with a $4.2 billion contract but has now spent a total of about $5.7 billion and the going is still uphill as the mission remains incomplete.
NASA wanted an alternative to SpaceX's Crew Dragon, and hence Boeing Starliner was being pushed through. Boeing is also going through a bad patch in general, and its aviation and aircraft business has also been stumbling. Recently, Boeing CEO David Calhoun was grilled by US Senators regarding the aviation giant's safety culture and transparency. If the Boeing Starliner fails to bring the two astronauts back to Earth, it would leave the aviation and space tech giant red-faced.
After today's hot test, whose results are still being assessed by Boeing and NASA, there is hope that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore could return to Earth before the latest crew of four astronauts heads to the space station. The new crew will be onboard SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket and Crew Dragon and the lift-off is likely after August 18.
