NASA’s “stuck” astronauts return home earlier than expected

NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore were at the International Space Station since June, despite initially expected to stay for just eight days. But now, NASA may take the two astronauts home a few weeks earlier than expected.

on tuesday, The Space Agency said This means “accelerating the launch and return dates of targets for future crew rotation missions with the International Space Station.” The previous plan was to revive the astronauts in late March, but now on March 12, a group of astronauts with 10 crew members of the engine can be launched. Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov was able to depart for Earth on crew 9.

Crew 10 missions carry pilots of NASA astronauts Ann McLaine and Nicole Aires. Astronaut Onysia, the astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos, Mission Specialist Kirill Pescov, will be on the ISS.

read more: NASA’s first interactive Twitch stream shows that astronauts love coffee

Record the space walk

However, as their stay was extended, Williams set a record. She went to Wilmore for five, 26 minutes into outer space, where she surpassed the records the women had set for her time on the spaceship. According to Space.comWilliams currently has a 62 hours and 6 minutes spacecraft, surpassing former astronaut Peggy Whitson, who took 60 hours and 21 minutes.

In this latest spacecraft, the two eventually worked to remove the failed wireless communications unit.

Williams previously worked with astronaut Nick Hague for the spaceship January 16th. In that spacecraft, Williams and the Hague replaced the rate gyro assembly, which helps maintain orientation at the pre-orbital post base. The astronauts will also install patches covering damaged light filters of neutron star interior composition explorer x-ray telescopes, and replace reflector devices with one of the international docking adapters, allowing the astronauts to make future Checked the access area and connector tools used for the Alpha Magnetic Photometer Maintenance.

Playing cards and musk

The astronauts are scheduled to return home in March. But that may not be fast enough for President Donald Trump.

“I just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to “go” two brave astronauts who were effectively abandoned in space by the Biden administration,” Trump wrote in the True Society. , According to NPR. “Good luck, Elon!!”

Astronauts are not abandoned. The delay occurred as NASA and Boeing engineers discovered the issue of the spacecraft that took the astronauts into space and chose to bring the vehicle back to Earth without the crew.

And the two are planning to go home with a capsule made by his company SpaceX, and the capsule has already been docked to the ISS, so it is unclear what the mask can do. Technically, astronauts could always go home, but that would put the project at risk by running out of space stations. The two astronauts say they are still working to keep them busy while they miss their families.

“I’d like to go home soon,” Williams said. Recent press conferences. “We left the family a while ago, but there’s a lot to do here and we have to do that before we go.”

“Life in space is so much fun”

However, Williams and Wilmore have not complained about their long-term stay.

“I love everything about being here.” Williams said Early December. “Life in space is so much fun.”

Astronauts are busy, with Williams and Wilmore supporting other Istation residents in space botany research and other research. According to NASA’s ISS blog. They have helped with over 60 scientific research. Washington Post reports.

Here’s what you need to know about what the two astronauts are doing:

Who is the astronaut?

Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts, both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astronaut since 1998 and has been a Willmore since 2000. Both have a lot of experience in space.

Williams is a former record holder for most of the female (7 people) spaceships, and most space walk times for women (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007, people in space were founded. I ran my first marathon.

In 2009, Wilmore piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis on its mission to the ISS, and in 2014 he was part of an ISS crew that used 3D printers to manufacture tools (ratchet wrenches) in space. We manufactured something from around the world.

What was your original mission in space?

Wilmore as commander and Williams as pilot traveled to the ISS in a 15-foot Boeing capsule called Starliner. They launched on June 5th and docked to the ISS on June 6th. NASA hopes Starliner will give the organization a new way to bring crews between them and the ISS. In the private sector of its human spaceflight options, the New York Times It has been reported.

The ISS missions of Willmore and Williams were supposed to last just eight days, so we’ll test the Starliner side and see how it works with human crews in space. However, due to Starliner’s complications, the two astronauts are still there.

What do astronauts say?

The astronauts were positive about their experience. in Live press conference In September, Williams said they both would have “trained for years” for it, despite knowing that their mission would only take eight days. They are fully qualified to assist SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft pilots who will remain in space for a long time and bring them home next year.

“It’s very peaceful here,” Williams said on September 13th, adding that she misses her family on Earth.

Astronauts work on research, maintenance and data analysis during their long-term stay.

“We’re having a great time here at ISS,” Williams said. At a press conference It will be held from orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch hasn’t complained that we’ve been here for a few weeks.”

How did they get stuck in space in the first place?

Starliner is late In May due to a problem with the rocket valve. The engineers then had to fix the helium leak. That’s all bad news for Boeing. the Competing with SpaceXthat’s true Transporting astronauts to the ISS Since 2020, we have made over 20 successful trips to the space station.

Starliner finally launched on the Atlas V Rocket on June 5th, but suffered from some issues. NASA announced it 3 helium leaks It was identified, but one of them was known before the flight. In addition to the leak, the crew had to troubleshoot the failed control thruster, but the craft was able to successfully dock into the ISS.

SpaceX also had a problem. a Falcon 9 rocket exploded On the 2016 LaunchPad, in July this year, the Falcon 9 Rocket experienced a liquid oxygen leak and deployed the satellite in the wrong orbit. New York Times It has been reported. And the Falcon 9 rocket in late August lost its first stage booster when it fell into the Atlantic Ocean. I set it on fire.

However, more than 300 successful SpaceX has achieved this. Falcon flight 9 That achievement.

Stuck in Space: Timeline

• May: The launch of the Starliner was delayed due to problems with the rocket valve and subsequently a helium leak.
• June 5th: Starliner will be launched with Williams and Wilmore on board.
• June 6: Starliner Docks despite dealing with three helium leaks and faulty control thrusters.
• September 6: Starliner leaves the ISS and land in New Mexico, leaving Williams and Wilmore behind.
• September 28th: ​​SpaceX Crew-9 missions will be released in Dragon’s Spaceship along with The Hague and Golbunov.
• September 29th: SpaceX Dragon Docks with ISS.
• December 17: NASA has announced that the launch of four crew members to the ISS will be postponed from February to late March.
• From March 2025 onwards: SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft returns to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, The Hague and Golbunov.