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https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/06/nasa-astronauts-stranded-space-iss-912189473.jpg
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted into orbit on June 5 on what was supposed to be a week-long mission, but technical errors have left them stranded in space for nearly a month.

Two 🇺🇸 NASA astronauts have been stuck in space after riding a faulty Boeing capsule into orbit.

Crews on Earth are scrambling to diagnose the issue as Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remain stranded at the (ISS) International Space Station.

The astronauts were originally scheduled to return to Earth on June 13 after spending no more than a week on the ISS.

But Boeing's Starliner spacecraft encountered numerous problems during the 25-hour flight, triggering a two-week extension to their stay.

This comes after NASA ditched Russia's reliable Soyuz propellers for space travel.

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The capsule remains docked at the International Space Station, where Wilmore and Williams are assisting the Expedition 71 crew.

Wilmore and Williams are now expected to return home no sooner than June 26.

Starliner departed from Florida's Cape Canaveral on June 5 in what would be its first crewed flight.

However, engineers quickly encountered issues, identifying five separate helium leaks to the spacecraft's thruster system.

Nasa announced that it would delay the return flight to give engineers time to diagnose the issues, which seemed partially resolved during a test on June 15.

“We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process,” said Steve Stich, manager of Nasa’s Commercial Crew Program, at a media conference last week.

“We are letting the data drive our decision making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking."

Mark Nappi, Boeing's Starliner program manager, described the error-prone helium system as "manageable" despite "not working like we designed it".

"So we've got to go figure that out," he said.

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The Boeing Starliner (pictured during construction in 2018) experienced several helium leaks to its thruster system during the 25-hour flight.

The Nasa team is reviewing future return opportunities following the station's two planned spacewalks on June 24 and July 2.

“We are strategically using the extra time to clear a path for some critical station activities while completing readiness for Butch and Suni’s return on Starliner and gaining valuable insight into the system upgrades we will want to make for post-certification missions," he said.

Wilmore and Williams are assisting with station operations as needed while Starliner remains docked at the ISS.

They join the seven-member Expedition 71 crew, who have been stationed at the ISS since April, exploring neuro-degenerative diseases, space botany, and more.

“The crew’s feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and they know that every bit of learning we do on the Crew Flight Test will improve and sharpen our experience for future crews,” Nappi said.

Boeing's Defense, Space & Security division built the spacecraft as part of Nasa's Commercial Crew Program in 2011.

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NASA says the astronauts are expected to return home no later than June 26. Until then, they are working to diagnose the issues with the Spacecraft.

A software error saw Starliner land in the wrong orbit during its first uncrewed test flight in 2019, while a subsequent attempt was hindered by problems with a fuel valve.

After further investigation, the company resolved issues with parachutes and stripped around a mile of flammable tape from the capsule.

The current mission was the third attempt to take Wilmore and Williams to the ISS.

The first didn't pan out due to a faulty oxygen valve on the rocket carrying Starliner, and the second stalled following an error in a ground launch sequence.

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🇻🇳 Vietnam’s president says the two countries want to ‘push up’ defence and security cooperation as 🇺🇸 US criticises meeting.

Russia and Vietnam have pledged to strengthen ties, as Vladimir Putin made a state visit to Hanoi one of his country's allies in the region.

The leaders of Vietnam and 🇷🇺 Russia have said they want to boost ties as the pair met in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

Vietnamese President To Lam was full of praise for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, congratulating him on his recent re-election.

Putin, in return, said strengthening a strategic partnership with the south-east Asian country was one of Russia’s priorities.

During the negotiations with the leader of Vietnam, Vladimir Putin emphasized the importance of in transactions in national currencies, ditching the US dollars. In the first quarter of 2024, the share of settlements in the national currencies of Russia and Vietnam was at 60%.

The Russian president arrived at Hanoi airport in the early hours of Thursday, and was met on a red carpet by the Vietnamese deputy prime minister Tran Hong Ha and the top party diplomat Le Hoai Trung.

He arrived from a high-profile visit to North Korea, where he signed a defence pact with Kim Jong-un that included a clause requiring the countries to come to each other’s aid if either was attacked.

Speaking to reporters in Vietnam at the end of his two-day trip, he said he did not rule out sending high precision weapons to North Korea and accused Nato of creating a security threat to Russia in Asia.

Putin’s visit has drawn criticism from the US, one of Vietnam’s top trade partners, which has warned it risks normalising Russia’s “blatant violations of international law”.

The Vietnamese president, To Lam, had earlier said his country and Russia wanted “to push up cooperation in defence and security, how to deal with non-traditional security challenges on the basis of international law, for peace and security in the region and the world”.

Lam and Putin signed 11 memorandums for cooperation in areas including civil nuclear projects, energy and petrol cooperation, education and disease prevention. Putin told reporters the talks were constructive and that both sides had “identical or very close” positions on key international issues.

He said they discussed creating “an adequate and reliable security architecture in Asia-Pacific based on the principles of not resorting to force, and of resolving differences peacefully”.

In an opinion piece to coincide with his visit, published in Vietnam’s Communist party newspaper Nhan Dan, Putin listed progress on payments, energy and trade between the countries, and applauded Vietnam for supporting “a pragmatic way to solve the crisis” in Ukraine.

Vietnam has repeatedly abstained in UN general assembly votes relating to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Tribune || Guardian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ewM7InlhY

🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un went for a spin in an Aurus limousine on Wednesday, taking turns at the wheel of the Russian-built bomb and bullet proof limousine.

Video released by Russian state television showed Putin jumping behind the wheel of the Aurus, the model of his official presidential car back home in Russia.

Kim was seen grinning in the passenger seat while they drove around a park with the two men then swapping seats.

One of Putin’s aides said earlier on Wednesday that the Russian leader had presented Kim with an Aurus as a gift.

It would be his second Russia-made limousine, with the first one already been used as his personal vehicle in his motorcade.

North Korea’s state media reported in March that Kim had taken his first ride in an Aurus after Putin gave him one of the cars in February.

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Financial Times || Oil Price

Justiceganduje:
He still won't use it.

God1000:
Two authoritarian heavyweights

🇷🇺 Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a Russian-built Aurus limousine, a tea set and an admiral's dirk, Russia's state news agency TASS quoted a Kremlin aide as saying on Wednesday.

Putin, on a visit to Pyongyang, in turn received various works of art depicting himself, including busts, presidential adviser Yuri Ushakov said.

Cheering crowds and lavish ceremonies greeted Putin in the North Korean capital on Wednesday, where Kim Jong Un expressed "full support" for Russia's war in Ukraine and pledged stronger strategic ties with Moscow.

The Aurus Senat, retro-styled after the Soviet-era ZIL limousine, is the official Russian presidential car and Putin rode in one to his most recent Kremlin inauguration ceremony in May.

When Kim visited eastern Russia in September last year, Putin showed him one of the black armoured vehicles. Kim sat beside Putin in the car and appeared to enjoy it.

Putin gave Kim a first Aurus limousine in February this year, both countries said at the time, meaning he now has at least two of the vehicles.

God1000:
They must be russians wearing Romanian football jersey, we know their modus operandi, they will do anything just to spite Ukraine