NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Weles and Suni Williams put out Boeing’s Starliner in the hatch to connect it to the International Space Station
NASA
Two American astronauts International Space Station Nine months after they have defects Boeing Starliner Capsules return Without them, I finally went home.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams left Earth in a test flight in June, which was originally intended to last about nine days.
But their accommodation has been extended Thruster On Boeing’s Starliner Capsule “Calypso” Failed During docking, concerns raised about the ability of ships to take them home. After the agency docked at the space station for about three months, the agency eventually sent the capsule back to empty and said it wanted to “get more about the root cause of the spacecraft problem.”
NASA also announced that Wilmore and Williams are both experienced astronauts and retired naval test pilots, and they will return SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft instead. As a result, the agency adjusted the rotation of astronauts to evacuate two people from SpaceX’s Crew-9 Mission back to Earth this week to make room for Wilmore and Williams.
The capsule with nine people arrived at the ISS in September. The crew rotates on the International Space Station, which means each group of astronauts can work until the next ceremony is “handed over” until the next astronaut arrives at the space station.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts out, bringing NASA’s crew 10 astronauts to the International Space Station at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA on March 14, 2025.
Captain Joe | Reuters
NASA’s initial plan SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission – It needs to arrive in February before crew 9 members are returned, but it was delayed by about a month.
Rocket carrying four new crew members emission On Friday night and its capsules Dock About 29 hours later in the space station.
According to NASA’s estimates, Wilmore, Williams, NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will splash Tuesday night, about 19 hours after covering the hatch on SpaceX capsules. schedule.
The Starliner crew’s flight test should check a final Boeing box and provide NASA with key assets. The agency hopes to realize its dream of owning two competing companies – Boeing and Elon MuskSpaceX-Flight Alternate Mission to ISS.
Instead, it is unclear what Boeing’s future crew space plan is. The company has Losses exceed $2 billion On its Starliner spacecraft.
This image comes from a video published by NASA, starting from left, who, Nick Hague and Suni Williams spoke at a press conference Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
NASA | AP
Once the president, Wilmore and Williams’ journey fell into Donald Trump Take office. Trump and Musk have become close advisers to the president, urging faster crews to launch, and Say there is no evidence Two astronauts were “stalked” on the space station, and the Biden administration left them there for political reasons. NASA has Delay Crew-10 was launched in December to allow more time to process the new dragon capsules, but decided to use reusable capsules to reduce waiting time.
NASA’s plan to return two astronauts has remained consistent since the agency announced in August.
Wilmore and Williams became part of the normal rotation during extended stays, performing scientific experiments and routine maintenance, just like any other astronaut spinning on the International Space Station (ISS). Williams also did it Space Road.
Williams repeatedly said the couple didn’t feel “abandoned” at the ISS, but she was looking forward to going home to see her family and two dogs.
“It’s a roller coaster for them, probably a little more than we do to us,” she told reporters earlier this month.
