Two astronauts currently stuck in space are facing a potential wardrobe malfunction — their spacesuits won’t fit on a potential rescue craft.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are still orbiting Earth ’cause of problems on the Boeing spacecraft they went up in … and they may need a rescue mission from Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring them back down to Earth.
The problem is, the pair’s spacesuits were made for the interior of the Boeing Starliner — and literally won’t plug into systems on the SpaceX Dragon due to different porting designs.
SpaceX has its own unique spacesuit for the Dragon … so this mismatch is causing some headaches with a new plan to bring the astronauts back.
Wilmore and Williams initially flew to the International Space Station on the Boeing Starliner back in June — but the mission tanked due to helium leaks and propulsion problems, leaving them stuck. They were only supposed to be up there for a week.
NASA says the Starliner could still make the return flight — but the agency is considering whether it should come back without the 2-person crew … keeping W&W in the ISS until the next Dragon mission. NASA has stressed the astronauts are not “stranded.”
If Elon’s SpaceX Dragon is called in for the rescue mission … the pair could potentially be waiting until Feb ’25 to get back home.
NASA leaders are scheduled to announce an update Saturday following an internal review of a Boeing test.
It’s also kinda crowded up there — in addition to Wilmore and Williams, there are 7 other astronauts inside.
