Astronauts' Spacesuits Incompatible With Potential Rescue Craft
ASTRONAUTS STUCK IN SPACE Spacesuits Incompatible With Elon's SpaceX ... Suits Won't Plug In
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.