NASA astronauts Butch and Suni’s return home delayed again
NASA says that astronauts stranded on the International Space Station will have to wait longer to reach home.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were scheduled to return after only a week following the explosion in June.
His stay was extended to February the following year due to technical problems with the Starliner, an experimental spacecraft built by Boeing.
Now – after delays in launching a new capsule to the ISS – the pair won’t return until late March or possibly April.
NASA said the delay poses no risk to astronauts.
In a statement NASA said: “The International Space Station recently received two resupply flights in November and is well stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing and oxygen. Resupply Space The spacecraft also carried special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays on the orbital platform.”
Most space station missions last six months, with some reaching a full year. According to Dr. Simeon Barber of the Open University, extending Butch and Suni’s already delayed stay in space should not be a problem.
“I’m sure they’re already disappointed that they’re going to miss Christmas with the guys back home. But it’s only two more months on an already pretty long mission, and I’m sure if you tell them If you ask, I’m sure they’ll tell you that the space station is the place they love to be,” he said.
According to the space agency, a new crew needs to be launched before Wilmore and Williams can return and the next mission has been delayed by more than a month.
NASA’s next four-member crew to the ISS was to be launched in February 2025. The capsule carrying that crew was supposed to bring Butch and Sunni home, with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos astronaut Alexander Gorbunov as part of it. Normal crew rotation.
But preparing a brand new Dragon capsule for the mission has been delayed by private sector company SpaceX. It is now scheduled for flight preparation before the end of March.
NASA said it is considering using a separate SpaceX capsule to fly the replacement crew to keep the flights on schedule.
But it has now been decided that the best option is to wait for a new capsule to carry the next crew.
