SpaceX sent a two-person crew to the International Space Station, marking the beginning of a mission to return two NASA astronauts lost in orbit after flying on Boeing Co.’s Starliner spaceship.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov launched aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon from Cape Canaveral, Florida, shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Crew-9 capsule docked with the ISS on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, and Hague and Gorbunov joined around 90 minutes later.
The two empty seats next to them will be filled by NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams when the spaceship returns next year.
The Crew-9 voyage was supposed to feature a four-person crew, but NASA eliminated two crew members to make way for the Starliner duo because to technical issues with Boeing’s aircraft. Astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson gave up their seats so their colleagues may return to Earth.
“We’re going to find spots for them to fly,” Ken Bowersox, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, said of Cardman and Wilson during a Friday news conference. “We really appreciate how hard it is to give up a mission and wait a little bit longer.”
Wilmore and Williams have been on the ISS since June 6, when they arrived on Starliner. During their docking, the spacecraft experienced a number of helium leaks and failures of its thrusters — tiny engines the vehicle uses to maneuver through space. After months of analysis and testing, NASA decided it was too risky to bring them home on the Boeing capsule.
The agency and Boeing instead returned the spacecraft uncrewed on Sept. 6, with the spacecraft landing under parachutes in New Mexico.
“When Starliner landed safely, it was wonderful that it made it back,” Wilmore said during a Sept. 13 news conference from the space station.
SpaceX’s crewed flights for NASA last about six months, with this vehicle slated to return around February. Wilmore and Williams’ flight on Starliner was supposed to last roughly a week.
“We always miss our families. I miss my two dogs; I miss my friends,” Williams said earlier this month. “There are so many people on Earth that are sending us messages, and it makes you feel just right at home with everybody.”
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Source: HT
