Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are set to return to Earth earlier than expected. NASA’s decision to use a previously flown SpaceX Crew Dragon for the Crew-10 mission has paved the way for their early return. The change in scheduling will bring the Starliner astronauts back home ahead of schedule.
The forthcoming crew rotation flights to and from the International Space Station will have their target launch and return dates accelerated, the US space agency stated. The launch has been rescheduled from its original date of March 25 to Wednesday, March 12.
This is “pending mission readiness and completion of the agency’s certification of flight readiness process,” NASA stated in its announcement. As per the space agency, the Crew-9 mission will return following a handover process with the recently arrived Crew-10 expedition team.
Further, NASA stated that because the production of a new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule has reportedly been delayed, the mission management teams chose to utilize an existing one that has already flown.
‘Endurance’ is the name of the capsule that will now be used. “Teams will work to complete Dragon’s refurbishment and ready the spacecraft for flight, which includes trunk stack, propellant load, and transportation to SpaceX’s hangar at 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be mated with the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket,” according to a statement from NASA.
In June 2024, Boeing’s Starliner capsule carrying Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had taken off for the International Space Station (ISS). However, the plane had several problems, including a helium leak. Sunita has been in control of the International Space Station (ISS) since the two NASA astronauts arrived.
The four-member expedition crew of the Crew-10 mission, which will maintain a regular staffing level at the space station, must arrive before the two astronauts can return.
The Crew-10 mission comprises NASA astronauts Anne McClain, commander and Nichole Ayers, pilot. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, mission specialist; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, mission specialist.
