How Boeing Stranded Two Astronauts
Slate News
Slate Podcasts
4.5 • 6K Ratings
🗓️ 13 August 2024
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It was supposed to be the triumphant rollout of Boeing’s new, reusable space taxi. Now NASA’s trying to find some other way to get two astronauts home.
Guest: Joey Roulette, space reporter at Reuters.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | For the last few weeks, all Joey Roulette has wanted to do is talk to some astronauts. |
| 0:18.0 | Joey reports on space over at Reuters. He's been wanting to speak with Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore. |
| 0:22.0 | They arrived at the International Space Station back in June. Williams and Butch Wilmore. |
| 0:22.5 | They arrived at the International Space Station |
| 0:24.4 | back in June, aboard a Boeing Starliner. |
| 0:29.2 | Did you watch this Starliner launch into space? Yeah, I was there in person. |
| 0:34.0 | What was that like? |
| 0:36.0 | I mean it was cool like any other rocket launch. |
| 0:38.0 | I mean it was on an Atlas 5 rocket and it was that rocket's first time flying humans. |
| 0:44.0 | Having covered this program for many years, |
| 0:47.0 | it was kind of unreal to finally see Starliner ascending to space with humans on board. |
| 0:55.7 | Butch and Sunny agreed to test the Starliner out. |
| 0:58.8 | Just a quick jot into orbit. |
| 1:01.4 | The day after lift-off, they docked at the space station, looking thrilled. |
| 1:06.0 | Lots of cheering here in the room, big hugs. |
| 1:11.0 | NASA broadcast a video of this moment. |
| 1:14.0 | Sunny literally dances into the space station to a round of applause, |
| 1:18.0 | her long hair swirling all around her. |
| 1:21.0 | Everyone looking very happy, they had a great ride. But the thing is, even at |
| 1:28.8 | this celebratory moment, it was clear that something was going wrong. Helium had started leaking from the ship. |
| 1:37.2 | Five thrusters had failed. Remember, this was a test drive, so Sunny and Butch were only supposed to be at the space station for like a week. |
| 1:47.3 | But a month after they arrived... |
... |
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