By: Gordon yang

In early June, two NASA astronauts went on a mission to the I.S.S. (International Space Station) were initially supposed to come back several weeks ago, testing Boeing’s Starliner aircraft.

These two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suli Williams, launched off with Boeing’s Starliner on the fifth of June, __. They experienced technical difficulties with the Starliner, such as authority attitude and thruster and helium leaks.

The official said on Friday, but don’t call the astronauts stuck or stranded. There is no talk of a rescue operation.

“We’re not stuck on I.S.S.,” Mark Nappie, the program manager at Boeing forStarliner, said during a news conference on Friday. “The crew is not in any danger.”

All of the thrusters except one are now working normally, so the other one won’t be utilized when coming back home.

“I think they’re doing their due diligence,” Wayne Hale, a retired NASA worker said. “Being in no hurry to come home, it makes a great deal of sense to take the time to gather as much information as possible so that they can make sure that the problems are all fixed.”

Starting next week, engineers will perform ground tests at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, using a thruster like the ones on Boeing’s Starliner. Fireworks will be set to celebrate Starliners performance in space.

According to writersofthenews.com, “Former NASA officials like Mr. Hale noted that mission managers’ brushing aside engineers’ concerns contributed to earlier fatal accidents.”

Throughout the instigate of spaceship Columbia in January of 2003, the external fuel tank’s insulating foam broke off and struck the aircraft’s left wing. Mr. Hale, who was going to take fill as the launch integration manager for the shuttle program, called immediately to the Defense Department, asking if they could examine the Columbia for mechanical issues.

“Looking back on it, certainly in the Columbia case, there were not enough questions asked,” Mr. Hale said. “There was not enough Time taken. And the lesson clearly has been learned that you take the time that’s available to get to the most complete answer and answer all the questions that any of the experts might have.”

The celebration of such a big and exciting event should be memorable. But the disaster of the shuttle’s crash should be a reminder of lessons we’ve learned with past disasters. It’s still good that we learned our lesson.