KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A crew of astronauts, including one from East Tennessee, will stay in space for at least eight more days. The crew arrived at the International Space Station on June 6, including Barry Wilmore, from East Tennessee.
He was on a team of people who headed into space to test the Boeing Starliner — marking the sixth time that NASA tested new crew transportation spacecraft. Wilmore and Suni Williams rode up on the spacecraft, ensuring it could safely take people up into space.
The Starliner missed its initial window to dock, and crews in Houston investigated how some of Boeing Starliner's thrusters failed. Flight controllers also said they detected signs of helium leaks after the launch. But, the crew still safely arrived at ISS.
On Sunday, the space station said the crew could expect to return back to Earth no earlier than June 18. It said the additional time in orbit would let the crew perform a spacewalk on June 13, while engineers continue to check Starliner's systems.