Editor-DN
SpaceX launched a rescue mission for two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station on Saturday, sending a small crew to bring them home but not until next year.
The capsule rocketed into orbit to bring test pilots whose Boeing spacecraft returned to empty Earth earlier this month due to safety concerns. A change in riders left it up to NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov to retrieve Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams.
Because NASA rotates space station crews about every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials said there was no way to get them back on SpaceX first without disrupting other scheduled missions.
By the time they return, the pair will have logged more than eight months in space. He expected to be gone for just a week when he signed up for Boeing’s first astronaut flight, which began in June.
NASA eventually decided that Boeing’s Starliner was too dangerous after thruster problems and helium leaks affected the trip to the orbital complex. The space agency cut two astronauts from that SpaceX launch to make room for Wilmore and Williams on their return.
Williams is then promoted to commander of the space station, which will soon return to its normal population of seven. Once Hague and Gorbunov arrive later this week, the four astronauts who have been there since March can leave in their SpaceX capsules. His return home was delayed by a month due to the turmoil of the Starliner.
Hague noted before the flight that change is a constant in human spaceflight.
“There is always something going on,” he said.
Six years ago, Haig was promoted to commander for rescue missions based on his experience and handling of launch emergencies. The Russian rocket failed shortly after takeoff, and the capsule carrying it and an astronaut dropped to safety.
Rookie NASA astronaut Zena Cardman and veteran astronaut Stephanie Wilson were pulled from the flight after NASA opted to go with SpaceX to bring the stranded astronauts home. Both will be eligible to fly on future missions, the space agency said. Gorbunov remained under an exchange agreement between NASA and the Russian Space Agency.
“I don’t know exactly when I’ll launch into space, but I know I’ll get there,” said Cardman from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Hague acknowledged the challenges of launching with half the crew and returning with two trained astronauts on another spacecraft.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is finally returning to Earth without its two American astronauts, Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore. The mission was to last eight days and the astronauts spent about seven days on the International Space Station. Their stay has now been extended to eight months due to problems with the Starliner. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield joins Canada Tonight for a talk.
“We have a dynamic challenge ahead of us,” Hague said after arriving from Houston last weekend. “We know each other and we’re professionals and we go ahead and do what we’re told.”
SpaceX has long been a leader in NASA’s commercial crew program, which was established when the space shuttles were being retired more than a decade ago. SpaceX beat Boeing to deliver astronauts to the space station in 2020 and is now up to 10 crewed flights for NASA.
Boeing has struggled with a number of problems over the years, repeating a Starliner test flight with no one on board after the first flight veered off course. The Starliner that carried Wilmore and Williams into space landed safely in the New Mexico desert on September 6, and has since returned to Kennedy Space Center. A week ago, Boeing’s defense and space chief was replaced.
Delayed due to Hurricane Helene hitting Florida, the latest SpaceX liftoff marked the first for astronauts from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX took over the old Titan rocket pad nearly two decades ago and used it for satellite launches, while flying crews from Kennedy’s former Apollo and shuttle pad next door. The company wanted more flexibility as more Falcon rockets went up.
