NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded in space for the past eight months due to an extended spaceflight mission, are expected to return home next month.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Sunita Williams and her crew partner Butch Wilmore, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), confirmed that the Crew-10 mission is scheduled to launch from Earth on March 12 and bring them home a week later on March 19.

Crew-10 Mission To The Rescue

The Crew-10 mission will carry a four-personnel team of NASA astronauts Anne McClain, and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the space station for a six-month-long mission.

Following Crew-10’s arrival, both the astronauts will participate in a week-long handover process, after which a new Space Station Commander will take charge. Currently, Sunita Williams is the commander of the flying laboratory.

After the handover, Williams and Wilmore will board the Dragon spacecraft that brought the Crew-10 to space, which will undock on Earth on March 19.

“The plan is that Crew-10 will launch on March 12, do a turnover for a week and we will return on March 19,” astronaut Butch Willmore told CNN in the interview.

Stranded In Space

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore flew to the International Space Station’s Boeing Starliner on June 5 last year and have been stuck since due to technical problems with the spacecraft.

The move comes after US President Donald Trump asked SpaceX’s Elon Musk to “go get abandoned astronauts” from space, urging immediate facilitation of their return.

“I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to “go get” the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration. They have been waiting for many months on Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!,” Donald Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.

I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to “go get” the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration. They have been waiting for many months on Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck…

— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) January 29, 2025

SpaceX developed its Crew Dragon capsule with roughly $3 billion in funding from NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

“Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges. Our operational flexibility is enabled by the tremendous partnership between NASA and SpaceX and the agility SpaceX continues to demonstrate to safely meet the agency’s emerging needs,” said Steve Stich, manager, of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

After being stranded in space for eight months, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally embarked on their first joint spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

Indian-origin astronaut and Commander Sunita Williams, along with fellow astronaut Barry Wilmore, ventured outside the International Space Station on Thursday to carry out maintenance work. As part of their tasks, they also wiped the station’s exterior to check for any surviving microbes from Earth.

“Here we go,” Mr Wilmore remarked as he exited the station, 420 kilometres above Earth, in a video livestreamed by NASA on X.

See the video here:

LIVE: @NASA_Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are taking a spacewalk to maintain @Space_Station hardware and collect samples. Today’s spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8am ET (1300 UTC) and go for about 6.5 hours. https://t.co/6pvzcwPdgs

— NASA (@NASA) January 30, 2025

NASA on Wednesday said it was working with billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX to safely return the astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are for months struck at International Space Station (ISS), back home “as soon as practical.” The development came a day after US President Donald Trump said that SpaceX would “soon” begin a mission to repatriate the two American astronauts.

“NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions,” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said in a post on X.

Veteran astronauts Wilmore and Williams arrived at the ISS in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner. They were due to spend only eight days on the orbiting laboratory, but technical problems on the spacecraft prompted NASA to change plans. The US space agency announced in August that Boeing rival SpaceX would bring the crew home in February. But their return was further postponed due to SpaceX preparing a new spacecraft.

 

This undated handout picture from NASA released on July 2, 2024 shows NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts (from top) Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
| Photo Credit: AFP

One of NASA’s two stuck astronauts got a much welcomed change of scenery Thursday, stepping out on her first spacewalk since arriving at the International Space Station more than seven months ago.

Sunita Williams, the station’s commander, had to tackle some overdue outdoor repair work alongside NASA’s Nick Hague. They emerged as the orbiting lab sailed 420km above Turkmenistan.

“I’m coming out,” Ms. Williams radioed.

Plans called for Ms. Williams to float back out next week with Butch Wilmore. Ms. Williams and Mr. Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule last June on what should have been a weeklong test flight.

But Starliner trouble dragged out their return, and NASA ordered the capsule to come back empty. Then SpaceX delayed the launch of their replacements, meaning the two won’t be home until late March or early April — ten months after launching.

It was the first spacewalk by NASA astronauts since an aborted one last summer. U.S. spacewalks were put on hold after water leaked into the airlock from the cooling loop for an astronaut’s suit. NASA said the problem has been fixed.

This was the eighth spacewalk for Ms. Williams, who has lived on the space station before.

Sunita Williams is set to undertake her first spacewalk in 12 years. According to a statement from NASA, she will join fellow astronaut Nick Hague on a mission aboard (on January 16) the International Space Station (ISS) to repair the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) X-ray telescope. 

In addition to this, Sunita Williams will take part in another spacewalk just a few days later. Both these spacewalks are part of NASA’s ongoing efforts to upgrade and maintain the ISS. 

These missions will be conducted as “US spacewalk 91” on January 16 and “US spacewalk 92” on January 23.

January 16 Spacewalk

Sunita Williams will work alongside fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague on January 16 to replace a critical rate gyro assembly, which plays a crucial role in maintaining the ISS’s orientation. 

In addition to this, the duo will look at the light filters of the NICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) X-ray telescope, and replace a reflector device used for navigation on one of the station’s docking adapters. 

The team will also check various access points and tools that will be used for future maintenance of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a key scientific instrument. 

NICER is set to become the first NASA observatory to undergo repairs in orbit since the Hubble Space Telescope’s servicing mission in 2009.

The International Space Station shared details of the mission on social media, revealing that the January 16 spacewalk will focus on repairing the NICER telescope. 

“On January 16, NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams will exit the space station to repair the NICER X-ray telescope. Hague, along with station astronaut Don Pettit, trained for the spacewalk last year,” the ISS shared on X (formerly Twitter).

On Jan. 16, @NASA_Astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams will exit the space station to repair the NICER X-ray telescope. Hague, along with station astronaut Don Pettit, trained for the spacewalk last year. More… https://t.co/RKGk6DOWVe https://t.co/GpQBetjtOs

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) January 8, 2025

According to NASA, Sunita Williams, who will be the second crew member to step outside the station, will wear an unmarked suit, while Nick Hague, who will take the lead as spacewalk crew member 1, will be in a suit with red stripes.

This marks Sunita Williams’ eighth spacewalk and Nick Hague’s fourth. The spacewalk will be the 273rd in support of ISS assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

January 23 Spacewalk

This spacewalk will be another critical operation. This time, she will team up with astronaut Butch Wilmore to remove an antenna assembly from the station’s truss, collect surface samples for analysis and prepare a spare joint for the Canadarm2 robotic arm. 

This spacewalk will also include testing for microbial life on the exterior of the space station. The event will mark the 274th spacewalk dedicated to the ISS’s ongoing maintenance and improvements.

Although Sunita Williams had originally planned to return to Earth in February 2025, her return has been delayed due to safety concerns surrounding the Boeing Starliner. She is now expected to return in March 2025.

New Delhi:

Astronaut Sunita Williams, currently in space, will see 16 sunrises and sunsets on New Year as the International Space Station, where she is located, keeps on the move. A post on X today from the space station handle read: “As 2024 comes to a close today, the Exp 72 crew will see 16 sunrises and sunsets while soaring into the New Year. Seen here are several sunsets pictured over the years from the orbital outpost”. 

As 2024 comes to a close today, the Exp 72 crew will see 16 sunrises and sunsets while soaring into the New Year. Seen here are several sunsets pictured over the years from the orbital outpost. pic.twitter.com/DdlvSCoKo1

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) December 31, 2024

Ms Williams, who started for the space station in June in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft along with astronaut Barry Wilmore, and initially expected to be back in 9 days, had to spend Christmas at the space station too. 

In a video shared by US space agency NASA, she said it was a “great time to be up here”. Her colleagues were seen sporting Santa caps – apparently part of holiday supplies sent up to the orbiting laboratory by NASA on SpaceX Dragon capsule.

“Welcome to the International Space Station as we get ready for the Christmas holidays. It’s a great time up here, we get to spend it with all of our ‘family’ on the International Space Station. There are seven of us up here and so we’re going to get to enjoy company together,” Ms Williams is heard saying in the video.

Ms Williams and Mr Barrymore are now hoping to be back in March after yet another postponement by NASA. They were set to return in February 2025, but it was postponed due to the delay in SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission, who have to relieve them.

The Crew-9’s two astronauts had arrived at the space station in late September, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams. The plan was for all four to return home in February 2025.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are currently stuck at the International Space Station (ISS), celebrated Christmas in space with Santa hats, sparking several conspiracy theories on social media. The video, posted by the US space agency, showed Williams wearing a red t-shirt, while three of her colleagues wore the Santa caps.

Social media users were quick to come up with theories, questioning if the astronauts knew they would have a prolonged stay at the ISS.

“You brought Christmas decorations into space months ago?” asked a user. Another said, “Seriously? How did they know to have all these Christmas decorations with them when they were only going in an 8 day mission?”

One user asked, “Who delivered the Christmas hats and decorations?? So…u thought far enough in advance to pack them when extra space in the capsule is at a very high premium??”

To everyone on Earth, Merry Christmas from our @NASA_Astronauts aboard the International @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/GoOZjXJYLP

— NASA (@NASA) December 23, 2024

Williams and her fellow astronaut have been at the ISS since June. What was supposed to be an eight-day ISS mission, stretched into months due to a Starliner spacecraft malfunction. The astronauts were to return home in February next year, but even that has been delayed. They will now return in March.

However, NASA has put an end to the conspiracy theories.

The US space agency told the New York Post that the Santa hats. Christmas tree, and other decorations and presents were sent to the ISS crew members as a part of a three-ton SpaceX delivery in November. The package also had Christmas meals including ham, turkey, potatoes, vegetables, pies, and cookies. Apart from this, some mission-specific and scientific items were also a part of the delivery.

The International Space Station is replenished with supplies several times each year, it said.

NASA astronauts’ Christmas greetings from space

NASA shared a video featuring Williams and others talking about their Christmas plans and extending their greetings.

“Welcome to the International Space Station as we get ready for the Christmas holidays. It’s a great time up here, we get to spend it with all of our ‘family’ on the International Space Station. There are seven of us up here and so we’re going to get to enjoy company together,” Williams said.

She also spoke about the things she liked about the occasion, saying, “One of the best things that I like about Christmas is the preparation and just getting ready, the anticipation, everybody getting together and preparing stuff and just getting ready for the holiday.”

New Delhi:

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams’ return from the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed once again. Ms Williams, 59, will now touch down on Earth after March next year. NASA insists that the crew is healthy and safe aboard the ISS.

The US space agency announced that the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, tasked with bringing her back, will launch no earlier than late March. Ms Williams reached the ISS in June. However, her return was delayed to February next year due to safety issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft she piloted to space.

Extended stays in a near-zero-gravity environment have many consequences on the human body, which is designed to function under Earth’s gravity. The human body tends to lose bone density, making bones brittle in space. Since the muscles are not used for any weight-bearing – as the body becomes almost weightless in space – they lose mass. Other organs, such as the heart, liver, and eyes also experience changes. Most of these changes are reversed once astronauts return to Earth and retrain under Earth’s gravity.

Ms Williams is a veteran of spaceflights, and this current mission is her third flight into space. Cumulatively, she has already spent over 517 days in space during her missions. At one point, she held the record for the most time spent on spacewalks, clocking over 51 hours of extra-vehicular activity (EVA).

Ms Williams flew to the ISS aboard the Boeing Starliner in June for what was initially planned as a 7-to-10-day mission. However, due to safety glitches with the Boeing Starliner, her stay was extended until February 2025. Now, NASA has announced that it is adjusting the crew dates, meaning she will return around late March or April next year.

“NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 is now targeting no earlier than late March 2025 to launch four crew members to the International Space Station,” the US space agency said.

NASA and SpaceX assessed various options for managing the next crewed handover, including using another Dragon spacecraft and making manifest adjustments. After careful consideration, the team determined that launching Crew-10 in late March, following the completion of the new Dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting NASA’s requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025.

The agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will return to Earth following the arrival of Crew-10 at the orbital laboratory. This period, known as ‘handover’, allows Crew-9 to share any lessons learned with the newly arrived crew, facilitating a smoother transition for ongoing science and maintenance activities aboard the station.

Crew-9, along with the full space station crew of Expedition 72, is focused on completing research aboard the microgravity laboratory and preparing for upcoming spacewalks.

There was speculation that Ms Williams had lost weight and was unhealthy, but these rumours were dismissed by NASA. Ms Williams herself stated that she is doing extensive weight training on the space station using the special equipment provided to the crew. Incidentally, during an earlier mission, she ran a space marathon on the ISS treadmill.

NASA also confirmed that the space station recently received two resupply flights in November and is well-stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing, and oxygen. The resupply spacecraft carried special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays aboard the orbital platform.

New Delhi:

Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, who has been in space since June, has put an end to swirling “rumours” about her health, saying she weighs the same as she did when she arrived at the International Space Station (ISS).

The “rumours” were sparked by recent images of her “gaunt” appearance, where she looked weaker and thinner after spending at least 150 days in space, triggering concerns of rapid weight loss.

“…I think my body has changed a little bit but I weigh the same…,” Williams, who is the Space Station Commander, told the media in a video interview that was shared by NASA.

“There are a lot of changes that go on here… It’s funny, I think there’s some rumours around that I am losing weight and stuff… No, I am actually right at the same amount… we go weigh ourselves, we have a spring mass… Butch and I weigh ourselves the same way that I was when I got up here,” she added.

Ms Williams and her fellow astronaut Barry (Butch) Willmore have been at the ISS for nearly five months. The duo had launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight, and arrived at the space station on June 6. They, however, faced delays, space debris threats, helium leaks and technical glitches on the Starliner spacecraft on which they travelled.

On August 24, NASA said it’s too risky to bring the two astronauts back to Earth in the troubled new capsule, and they’ll have to wait until February for a ride home with SpaceX.

As Ms William’s images of “sunken cheeks” and a thinner physique surfaced, the astronaut said the change in appearance was due to a “fluid shift” in the body.

“I think things shift around quite a bit… you have a fluid shift where you know the folks in space… their heads look a bit bigger because the fluids even out along the body. But now, you know, we’ve been up here for a couple of months, we’ve been working out here. We’ve got a bike, we’ve got a treadmill and we’ve got weight-lifting equipment,” she said.

“I could definitely tell that weightlifting, which is not something that I do all the time, is something that has changed me. My thighs are a little bit bigger, my body is a little bit bigger, we do a lot of squats. And just to go back to the treadmill…why… It’s because we are working on our bone density in our hips and in our feet. So, I think my body has changed a little bit but I weigh the same…,” she added.

SpaceX has launched its Crew Dragon spacecraft on a “rescue mission” to bring back two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) since June. Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams travelled to the space station on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which was on its first mission with a human crew.

But several engines malfunctioned once in space and the vehicle was found to be leaking helium, which is essential for the functioning of its engines. After weeks of analysis and discussion by NASA and Boeing engineers, the space agency decided to send Wilmore and Williams home on the Crew Dragon because of safety concerns with Starliner.

For Boeing, this embarrassing episode is the latest in a long series of problems. They include fatal crashes of its 737 Max aircraft in 2018 and 2019 and a door that blew out mid-flight on a 737 Max 9 plane in January 2024.

Boeing’s Starliner craft has been beset with challenges since 2014 when Nasa awarded both Boeing and Space X with contracts to develop spacecraft that could transport astronauts and supplies to and from the ISS as part of its Commercial Crew Program (CCP).

Boeing received US$4.2 billion (£3bn) to develop the Starliner craft, while SpaceX received US$2.6 billion (£1.9 billion) to develop the Crew Dragon. Despite the lower contract value, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has performed much better than Starliner, making a successful first crewed flight in 2020 and launching regularly to the ISS ever since. Starliner, meanwhile, has still not had a fully successful crewed flight.

SpaceX was seen as something of an upstart at the time the contract was awarded, so the outcome shows how much the landscape has shifted in the space sector. It’s also a vote in favour of the iterative, agile processes that Space X adopts, versus the more traditional, linear development processes at Boeing.

Boeing’s reputation for safety and reliability took a massive hit with the two fatal crashes of its 737 Max aircraft. According to a Congressional committee report from 2020, the accidents happened against a background of financial pressure to compete with Airbus’ relatively new A320neo family of aircraft.

This pressure “resulted in extensive efforts to cut costs” and maintain the 737 Max program schedule, the report said. The committee identified several instances where “the desire to meet these goals and expectations jeopardised the safety of the flying public”. Nevertheless, Boeing still managed to spend several billion dollars buying back shares, which can boost a company’s share price, among other things.

Boeing engineers were concerned about pressures within the company and their effects on safety. These worries extended to the development of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), an onboard system intended to prevent stalling by adjusting the aircraft’s angle automatically. However, the system was initially omitted from aircraft documentation. Pilots who were not familiar with the system didn’t know how to override it, leading to the fatal accidents.

In response to the Congressional report, a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement: “We have learned many hard lessons as a company from the accidents…as this report recognises, we have made fundamental changes to our company as a result, and continue to look for ways to improve.”

Faced with a public outcry after the accidents, Boeing made adjustments to its safety management systems and supply chain quality controls. It also added safety goals as a feature of its employee compensation processes and is generally trying to shift its culture to emphasise safety. There is also more oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Safety culture

The partial failure of Starliner’s mission doesn’t help Boeing’s effort to bounce back from its problems. The company’s reputation has not been irreparably damaged, however. Boeing can recover and is taking the right initiatives to re-emphasise a safety culture – something that’s crucial to its business going forward.

But recovering trust while upholding financial performance can take years. Boeing has lost US$32 billion (£24 billion) since 2019. While losses narrowed in 2023, figures for the last two quarters have not been encouraging with respect to returning to profit. Boeing has a strong order book, but the company needs to find ways to balance efficiency and profitability without compromising safety.

For now, the future of Nasa’s Commercial Crew Program, to transport astronauts to and from the space station, is secure. Nasa can lean more on SpaceX, as it is doing to return the stranded astronauts.

Other companies such as Sierra Space are also developing spacecraft that could, in future, undertake the safe transport of humans to and from space. It’s quite possible that Nasa could eventually partner with these companies for its future needs.

The US space agency prefers to have more than one supplier in crucial services such as this, so that it has flexibility when needed. It’s also preferable in case something goes wrong with one of the vehicles, something known as having “redundancy”.

The ISS is expected to be decommissioned in 2030, when it will reach the limits of its useful life. Nasa is likely to support Boeing’s continued involvement with the Commercial Crew Program given the sunk costs of the contract and Nasa’s need to have more than one supplier.

Yet, even after the ISS is commanded to burn up over the Pacific Ocean, there will probably be commercially owned space stations that require vehicles to transport astronauts. However, both Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft spent more than a decade in development. So while other companies are waiting in the wings, their vehicles are not going to materialise immediately.

Nasa is also building a space station in orbit around the Moon, called Gateway. This is part of Nasa’s Artemis programme. The space agency’s Orion spacecraft will fulfil the crew transport role at first, but there could be a place for commercial providers further down the road.

The Artemis programme has the objective of returning humans to the Moon this decade and Gateway will be central to lunar operations. Nasa could also launch missions to other destinations in deep space from this lunar space station.

Boeing may or may not choose to be a part of this bold new era in spaceflight. But it will need to fully implement the significant changes necessary to rebuild trust and recover from a challenging few years.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Washington:

The SpaceX crew that will ferry back two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station docked with the orbiting laboratory Sunday, a live stream of the mission showed.

The Falcon 9 rocket took off at 1:17 pm (1717 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday, with the Crew-9 mission on a Dragon spacecraft making contact with the ISS at 5:30 pm Sunday.

After docking was completed, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov boarded the station just after 7:00 pm, embracing their floating colleagues on the space station.

“What a fabulous day it was today,” NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy said at a news conference.

When Hague and Gorbunov return from the space station in February, they will bring back two space veterans — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — whose stay on the ISS was prolonged for months due to problems with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft. 

The newly developed Starliner was making its first crewed flight when it delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June.

Welcome, #Crew9! After floating through the Dragon’s hatch, our new arrivals join the crew aboard the @Space_Station. They’ll spend five months conducting @ISS_Research and maintenance on the orbiting lab. pic.twitter.com/DJX7f9vxlg

— NASA (@NASA) September 29, 2024

They were supposed to be there for only an eight-day stay, but after problems with the Starliner’s propulsion system emerged during the flight there, NASA was forced to weigh a radical change in plans.

After weeks of intensive tests on the Starliner’s reliability, the space agency finally decided to return it to Earth without its crew, and to bring the two stranded astronauts back home on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.

SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has been flying regular missions every six months to allow the rotation of ISS crews.

But the launch of Crew-9 was postponed from mid-August to late September to give NASA experts more time to evaluate the reliability of the Starliner and decide how to proceed.  

It was then delayed a few more days by the destructive passage of Hurricane Helene, a powerful storm that roared into the opposite side of Florida on Thursday.

In total, Hague and Gorbunov will spend some five months on the ISS; and Wilmore and Williams, eight months.

In all, Crew-9 will conduct some 200 scientific experiments. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)