Rocket with Replacement Crew for NASA Astronauts Stranded for Nine Months Successfully Launches | Science, Climate & Tech News
A highly anticipated rocket carrying a replacement crew for two stranded NASA astronauts has successfully launched towards the International Space Station (ISS).
US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been trapped aboard the ISS for nine months due to repeated delays in their return journey.
The Crew-10 mission was initially set to launch the four-member replacement crew from Florida on Wednesday; however, a last-minute problem with the rocket’s ground systems led to a postponement.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Pic: NASA
NASA and SpaceX are sending a long-awaited crew to the International Space Station. Pic: AP
NASA announced on Thursday that SpaceX, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, had rectified the problem by eliminating a suspected air pocket from a hydraulic clamp arm, and reported that the weather conditions were 95% favorable for a launch on Friday.
A view of Earth captured from the second-stage rocket (left) and booster (right). Pic: NASA
Successful landing – the first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket returned to Earth. Pic: NASA
The crew is projected to reach the ISS by Saturday evening. They consist of NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots, as well as Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, both former airline pilots.
They will be stationed at the space station for six months, relieving Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams, who have been aboard since June 2024.
The two astronauts initially planned for an eight-day mission, but were stranded on the station due to complications with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
Crew members (from left) Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Takuya Onishi before heading to the rocket. Pic: NASA
Footage onboard shortly after launch displayed the four astronauts. Pic: NASA
The mission has become a subject of political discussion as Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk claimed – without substantial evidence – that former President Joe Biden left the astronauts behind for political motives.
NASA clarified that the astronauts’ extended stay on the ISS was necessary for maintaining the station’s minimum staff levels.
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NASA accelerated the Crew-10 mission from March 26, replacing a postponed SpaceX capsule with one that was ready sooner.
The demands from Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk for an expedited return were an atypical involvement that added additional pressure on NASA’s safety and preparation processes.
NASA’s commercial crew program manager, Steve Stich, indicated that SpaceX’s “swift pace of operations” necessitated adjustments to certain safety verification procedures. The agency had to resolve several “last-minute” issues, NASA space operations chief Ken Bowersox informed reporters, including investigating a fuel leak in a recent SpaceX Falcon 9 mission and deterioration in a protective coating on some of the Dragon crew capsule’s thrusters.
