This Christmas is going to be very different from the ones expected just a few months ago for two people. Their names are Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, and right now they are many miles from Earth as part of a NASA mission that has suffered all kinds of setbacks. The two astronauts arrived at the ISS for a 10-day stay, but things became so complicated that the last update was going to leave them until February. Now it seems even more so.
A mission that mutates. As we said, American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Originally planned as a mission of a few days, this became an odyssey of more than nine months when multiple failures in the Starliner’s propulsion system forced NASA to return the capsule to Earth without a crew, drastically altering the plans for return.
The solution: SpaceX Crew-9. NASA opted to include Wilmore and Williams in the return of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the station in September aboard a Dragon capsule with additional seats for them. The plan contemplated a joint return in February 2025, but things, once again, have gone wrong.
The reason? That solution depended on the timely launch of Crew-10, the mission intended to relieve Crew-9 and allow for regular crew rotation. It’s not going to be the case.
Another delay. As the US space agency explained a few hours ago, Crew-10 will not take off, at least, before the end of March 2025, which implies that both Crew-9 and the fatigued Wilmore and Williams will remain on the ISS. for an even longer period.
This delay is apparently due to the need to complete the processing of a new Dragon capsule for Crew-10, ensuring the safety and effectiveness of the mission. The change also underscores the complexity of space operations, where every technical detail must be meticulously reviewed.
Impact of a prolonged stay. There is no doubt, all these setbacks have these two astronauts as sad protagonists. For Wilmore and Williams, this extension of their mission means a significantly different experience than planned, facing physical and psychological challenges associated with prolonged stays in microgravity.
His more than nine months on the ISS contrast with the short initial duration of his mission, highlighting the resilience required to adapt to these unexpected changes. Not only that. There are also concerns with the Crew-9 crew, which includes NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov of Roscosmos.
Spatial rotations and continuity. For its part, SpaceX, in its role as NASA’s main partner, has maintained a regular mission schedule every six months to ensure the rotation of ISS crews. The transition between Crew-9 and Crew-10 will include a period of what is called “handover”, where both crews will work together to ensure the continuity of scientific and maintenance operations on board.
On the other sidewalk, there is no doubt, there is Boeing. Starliner’s failure to meet operating standards represented a significant setback for the company and its $4.3 billion contract with NASA, which seeks to ensure regular transportation of crew and cargo to the ISS. While SpaceX has successfully launched nine crewed missions, Boeing faces a freeze on its program until more reliable certification for operational flights is achieved. The company must be looking forward to 2024.
Image | POT
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