NASA has scheduled the return of Starliner astronauts from the International Space Station with the assistance of Crew 10 and two other ISS crew members before March 20.
Summary of essential information that you must be aware of
- NASA aims to save the Starliner astronauts by March 20.
- The mission, originally planned to last one week, now stretches to nearly 290 days.
- Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft faced issues that caused a delay in its return as scheduled.
A week-long journey
Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams departed for the International Space Station on June 5, 2024, for a mission scheduled to last slightly more than a week. Nevertheless, issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, including propulsion and leakage problems, posed a risk for the crew’s return.
NASA has decided to bring back Wilmore and Williams from the ISS along with astronauts Hague and Gorbunov of Crew 10.
Crew 10 is scheduled to be released on March 12, and NASA plans to conduct a transfer lasting five to seven days to prepare Wilmore, Williams, Hague, and Gorbunov for the next rotation.
SpaceX’s Dragon Crew spacecraft will transport the four astronauts back to Earth after being docked at the ISS for an extended period.
Elon Musk’s controversies and active participation
Wilmore and Williams’ extended space mission became a matter of political controversy when ex-President Donald Trump claimed that President Biden had left the astronauts behind in space, stating that he had requested Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, to come to their rescue.
Musk joined the conversation and criticized Biden, but NASA made it clear that the US government did not play a role in extending the mission. The agency mentioned that there was no requirement for a sudden rescue as the Crew Dragon spacecraft was prepared to bring them back.
The hope is that all goes according to plan and the astronauts can at last come back home after spending eight months in space.
Source