2024-08-31 05:50:28
New Delhi: American astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore went into space on June 5 this year in Boeing’s Starliner spaceship. They were supposed to stay on the space station for just 8 days. But, their return to Earth was repeatedly postponed due to helium leak in the spacecraft. Actually, helium leak and thruster defect were detected in Boeing Starliner. Now Sunita and Wilmore will have to spend at least 240 days in space. That is, their return will be possible only by February 2025. However, the wait for Sunita and her colleague to return to Earth may be longer. Let us understand from the experts whether the lives of Sunita Williams and her colleague are in danger? What changes can happen in their body after staying in space for so many days? The US government spends such a huge amount on its space programs, which is equal to the growth rate i.e. GDP of many small countries. Still, why is it failing to bring Sunita and her colleague to Earth?
Now both passengers will return after 240 days by SpaceX spacecraft
Recently, NASA said that the Boeing Starliner spacecraft by which both the passengers went to the International Space Station (ISS) will now return without a crew. That is, these astronauts who spent 8 days in space will now have to spend 8 months in space orbit. Both NASA astronauts, who have been stranded in space for the last two months, will be brought back to Earth in February next year by SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. This extra time will give SpaceX time to launch its next spacecraft, whose flight is scheduled for the end of September. Earlier four astronauts were going to go in it, but now only two passengers will go to the space station. This will make space for Sunita and Wilmore. When this spacecraft returns to Earth in February, both of them will also come to Earth by sitting in it.
Sunita Williams’ spacecraft will burn… American space expert warns, tells three dangers of Boeing Starliner’s return
How much will Sunita’s body change in 8 months
Dr. Vinod Kumar Srivastava, former scientist of Indian Space Agency ISRO, says that a Canadian research was published in Nature magazine in 2022. This study of Ottawa University said that while living in space, 50 percent of the red blood cells in the body of astronauts are destroyed and this continues till the mission continues. That is, there is a lack of blood in the body. This is called space anemia. These red cells supply oxygen to the entire body. For this reason, space travel to the Moon, Mars or far away is a big challenge. However, why this happens is still a mystery. Apart from this, while living in space, the muscles of the passengers become weak and there is a lack of calcium in the bones. After returning to Earth, astronauts feel weak and tired.
30 lakh red blood cells of an astronaut’s body get destroyed in 1 second
According to scientists, while in space, 30 lakh red blood cells are destroyed in the body of astronauts every second. On the ground, this rate is only two lakh per second. However, in any case, the body compensates for this loss, because red cells keep forming at the same speed.
What do astronauts do on the space station?
Scott Kelly, an American astronaut, spent 340 days in space. He once told the media in an interview that there is a lot of work on the ISS. We have to wake up at 6 am every day. There are three types of work there – like doing an experiment, or repairing the damaged hardware of the space station, or paying attention to the general maintenance of the space station so that the station can function properly.
America is spending money like water on its space program but still it fails
According to a research by Statista, America is spending the most money for space programs in the world. It is spending about Rs 6.2 lakh crore for its space missions. China is far behind America, which is spending Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Compared to America, India is spending only Rs 14 thousand crore. Still America is proving unsuccessful in bringing back the passengers. By November 2023, 676 passengers had gone to space. During that journey, 19 American astronauts lost their lives. The mortality rate of astronauts in America is 2.8 percent. In the last 50 years, more than 30 astronauts of America and Russia have lost their lives. The records of the Boeing in which both the passengers went have not been good. Even the planes flying on the ground have often been found to have defects.
Russian capsule can bring Sunita and Wilmore
Vinod Srivastava says that currently 8 capsules can be docked on the International Space Station i.e. ISS. Right now only Russia’s capsule is present there, which is used in emergency. Earlier America also had a capsule. But now all the capsules are of Russia only. These capsules are docked on the station. If the worst comes to a bad situation, then Russia’s capsule is there, with which 5 astronauts can return to Earth together. 5 passengers are on the station, while with the arrival of Sunita and Butch, there are 7 passengers on the station. Since the relations between America and Russia are not good, America is trying its best right now.
The spacecraft must enter the Earth’s atmosphere from a specific height
According to scientist Vinod Kumar Srivastava, the International Space Station is at a height of more than 300 kilometers from the earth. When a spacecraft enters the Earth’s atmosphere at a height of about 80 kilometers from the earth through a special corridor, only then will it be able to return to Earth successfully. Even a slight mistake in this will cause the spacecraft to return to the universe and keep circling it. This is called the re-entry corridor.
How does one enter the earth, what is a corridor
According to Vinod Kumar Srivastava, while entering the earth, the vehicle enters from a particular angle. This angle ranges from 94.71 degrees to 99.80 degrees. After entering the earth’s atmosphere from every entry angle, the upper part of the capsule will burn completely and the lower part, in which the passengers live, will come down with parachutes. If there is even a slight disturbance in this, then this vehicle will burn to ashes.
Russia had overtaken America by sending the first woman into space
Dr. Vinod Srivastava tells that Valentina Tereshkova of Russia was the first and youngest astronaut who went to space on June 16, 1963. She was selected from 400 applications. You will probably be surprised to know that while scientists in America believe that only men can travel to space, Russia, in its jealousy and competition to get ahead of America, sent a woman to space for the first time. It wanted to take the credit for becoming greater than America by sending a woman to space. Valentina orbited the Earth 48 times. Roberta Bonder of Canada was the first Canadian woman to go to space. Since then, many women scientists have orbited space, including Kalpana Chawla of Indian origin in 1997.
US President Kennedy was against sending a woman to the moon
In 1962, the Civil Rights Act was passed. This removed the restrictions on women astronauts going into space, but the then President John F. Kennedy’s intention was that a man should go to the moon. In such a situation, only men got priority to go into space. Nearly 20 years later, in 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into outer space.
According to the Translational Research Institute for Space Health, today about 50 percent of astronauts trained are women, whereas only 12 percent of space missions have been conducted by women. Earlier, this participation was just 11 percent. These are the women astronauts who were sent to outer space.