Those tranded Boeing Starliner astronauts are apparently being forced to deal with some pretty undignified living standards.

It sounds less than ideal — but as the report notes, Williams and Wilmore’s difficulties don’t end with their sleeping arrangements.

As with every ISS mission, the Starliner astronauts initially had specific jobs to do on board the station that would have eaten up their eight-day journey. As Time reports, their main priority was checking in on the Boeing capsule and making sure its communications, life support, and other essential functions were in good shape.

With that checklist done and their journey having been extended until possibly February due to Starliner’s technical issues, Wilmore and Williams have instead been assisting their fellow crew members with their tasks and experiments, including repairing a urine processing pump.

Beyond that lovely job, Wilmore and Williams were also forced to stretch their clothing rations because there’s no laundry on board the ISS. Generally speaking, astronauts pack enough clothes for the length of their journey, and with their trip home having been pushed back repeatedly, the Starliner crew had to make do until a Northrop Grumman resupply mission finally came to deliver them new clothes earlier this month.

  • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
    3·
    3 months ago

    Why are you being so combative about this? Not understanding how people could be at peace with this is disappointing, sure, but you’re endlessly trying to escalate this. Picking out one argument to attack from a stack of reasoned explanations, wholly ignoring the response to your last objection in favor of a new one that exaggerates the arguments made, approaching every new comment with a constant shifting of the goalposts.

    “I wish I spent months without my mom/dad” is blatantly re-framing my comment from the context it was presented and which it is relevant to. But to respond: Personally, speaking as a once and future child, I would not be wishing to have ‘spent months without’ with my parent. But if their fear of potentially being deprived of my presence stopped them from going to space, I would be absolutely furious with their selfishness, and if they went on this mission I would be proud beyond my ability to express, of them and their work. And I would be terrified for them. But fear is a natural response that fades with practice, and although I would miss them, knowing they were safe and doing what they chose to do would be reassurance enough to last me eight months, even if I couldn’t speak to them.