Sunita Williams will now have to stay in space for around 10 months
NASA has announced yet another delay in the rescue mission of stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore.The mission is now extended from the originally planned eight days to over nine months. The astronauts will remain in orbit even longer due to a delay in the launch of SpaceX's Crew-10 mission. Notably, Crew-10 was originally set to replace the current Crew-9 team and bring Williams and Wilmore home in February 2025, but its launch has been delayed until late March.
NASA stated, "The agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth following the arrival of Crew-10 to the orbital laboratory."
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"The change allows NASA and SpaceX teams more time to finish preparing a new Dragon spacecraft for the mission," NASA said in a blog post. As a result, Williams and Wilmore will spend nearly ten months in space, instead of the originally planned eight days.
Additionally, NASA's Commercial Crew Program Manager, Steve Stich, emphasized that careful attention is needed in the fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft. He acknowledged SpaceX's efforts to expand the Dragon fleet and the station crew's flexibility during this process. NASA concluded that delaying the Crew-10 launch to late March, after completing the new Dragon spacecraft, is the best approach to meet mission goals for 2025.
For the unversed, the astronauts reached the ISS in June on Boeing's Starliner, which faced issues like thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, causing NASA to return it to Earth without crew. Williams and Wilmore remained on the ISS while NASA adjusted plans. SpaceX's Crew-9 mission, launched in September 2024, included two empty seats for their return. However, NASA has now delayed the Crew-10 mission, which was supposed to bring them home, until late March 2025, due to the time needed to prepare a new Dragon spacecraft.
While being stranded in space, Williams is keeping the festive spirits high and is already preparing for Christmas. Following the Dragon's cargo delivery, which included supplies and holiday gifts, Williams reflected on the special experience of celebrating the holidays in space.
NASA shared a festive update featuring astronauts Don Pettit and Sunita Williams posing for a holiday portrait inside the ISS's Columbus laboratory while speaking on a ham radio. The agency also posted photos of the crew wearing Santa hats and adding holiday decorations around the space station.
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