Stranded Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore may return back to Earth in mid-March instead of late March or April.
The space agency said that SpaceX will switch capsules for upcoming astronaut flights that will save at least couple of weeks from their prolonged stay at the International Space Station.
“Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges,” Nasa’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said in a statement.
This comes after Williams and Wilmore hit eight-month mark in the ISS last week.
Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore were part of a test mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule, designed to evaluate the spacecraft’s performance and capabilities. The mission, launched last June, was originally planned to last just one week.
However, unforeseen technical issues with the Starliner capsule disrupted these plans, necessitating an indefinite extension of their stay. NASA made the decision to return the Starliner to Earth for further inspection and troubleshooting, leaving Williams and Wilmore aboard the ISS.
Then SpaceX delayed the launch of their replacements on a brand new capsule that needed more prepping, which added more time to Wilmore and Williams’ mission.
With even more work still anticipated for the new capsule, NASA opted for its next crew to fly up on an older capsule, with liftoff now targeted for March 12. This older capsule had already been assigned to a private crew awaiting launch this spring.
Meanwhile, Williams mentioned that she still wanted to get back home but has stressed that a lot of work needs to be done while staying in space. Though she has been away for a record long time, she has remained engaged in her mission by doing essential tasks on board the ISS and advancing NASA’s goals in space. Crew 9 awaits the arrival of Crew 10 while maintaining a keen focus on their activities in space in anticipation of the eventual return to Earth.
