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Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to depart on Wednesday after spending more than nine months in space, accompanied by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Crew-10 astronauts welcomed by Crew-9 astronauts including Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on ISS. (International Space Station)
Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Return: NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX had launched a long-awaited crew mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday to bring back astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stuck in space for over nine months after technical issues in their Starliner capsule. On Sunday, the Crew-10 officially arrived at the ISS as SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft successfully completed the docking process at 12:04 am ET (9:34 am Indian time).
Just after completing the docking, Crew-10 received a welcome from an orbital sunrise.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14 carrying four astronauts who will replace Wilmore and Williams. The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docked at the ISS on Sunday and the hatch was opened shortly after the spacecraft conducted standard leak checks and pressurisation.
At 9:30 am IST, the spacecraft began its final approach after getting the go-ahead from the ISS crew for docking. The Crew Dragon spacecraft has completed rendezvous and the docking sequence was completed at around 9:40 am IST, with the ISS crew welcoming the new NASA astronauts. The spacecraft was prepped for hatch opening at the ISS, which took place over an hour afterwards.
Crew-9 Welcomes Crew-10 On ISS
The hatch was opened at approximately 1:35 am ET (11:05 am Indian time), after which the Crew Dragon astronauts entered the space station and were seen embracing and hugging their counterparts of the Expedition 72 crew in zero gravity. The Crew-9 is expected to deliver their farewell remarks later today.
The stranded astronauts – Williams and Wilmore – would be replaced by four astronauts who boarded SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket – Cosmonaut Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos of Russia, Pilot Nichole Ayers and Commander Anne McClain of US, and Mission Specialist Takuya Onishi of Japan’s JAXA.
The old crew welcomed the Crew-10 astronauts who will take their place at the space station. The four newcomers from the US, Russia and Japan will spend the next few days learning the station’s ins and outs from the duo before the latter return home.
The four new astronauts thanked NASA and SpaceX for the journey. “Crew-10 has had a great journey up about 28 hours to get back up to the space station and I cannot tell you the immense joy of our crew when we looked out the window and saw the space station for the first time,” said McClain.
“From the bottom of my heart, thanks to our families, friends and our colleagues, from all the partners, NASA, SpaceX, CSA, ISSA, Roscosmos and JAXA for preparing us and making it possible for us to get here,” said Takuya. “We are so excited to be part of Expedition 72.”
The Crew-10 is expected to stay at the ISS for six months, increasing the total number of astronauts on the ISS to 11.
Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore To Depart On Wednesday
Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to depart on Wednesday as early as 4 am ET (1:30 pm IST), and make their way back to Earth after their trip to space, which was initially meant for only eight days, stretched on for over nine months. They will be accompanied with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who flew on a Crew Dragon craft.
Otherwise a routine crew rotation flight, the Crew–10 mission is a long-awaited first step to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth – part of a plan set by NASA last year that has been given greater urgency by US President Donald Trump since he took office in January.
Elon Musk had earlier said that SpaceX had offered a dedicated Dragon mission for the pair last year as NASA mulled ways to bring the two back to Earth. However, NASA officials said two astronauts have had to remain on the ISS to maintain adequate staffing levels.
Dragon is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew aboard the spacecraft and the space station will monitor as it approaches and docks to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.
“Congratulations to our NASA and SpaceX teams on the 10th crew rotation mission under our commercial crew partnership. This milestone demonstrates NASA’s continued commitment to advancing American leadership in space and driving growth in our national space economy,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro.
A ‘Roller Coaster’ Ride
Williams and Wilmore, who had initially planned to stay at the ISS for eight days, have been stuck in space for nine months after technical issues developed on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
During their approach to the ISS, five of the 28 thrusters of the Starliner spacecraft carrying Williams and Wilmore failed, which extended their trip from days to months in space. Their extended delay fuelled health concerns as pictures showed Williams undergoing a drastic weight loss.
Having seen their mission turn into a normal NASA rotation to the ISS, Wilmore and Williams have been doing scientific research and conducting routine maintenance with the other five astronauts.
Williams told reporters earlier this month that she was looking forward to returning home to see her two dogs and family. “It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us,” she said.
Donald Trump and his close ally Musk have repeatedly asserted that the two astronauts were left stranded at the ISS by the previous Joe Biden administration for “political reasons”. Their demand for an earlier return for the astronauts was an unusual intervention into NASA operations.
(with Reuters inputs)
- Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
